Tournament of Youth
by Fallen Ark Angel
Summary: The slayer kids enter a 21 and under tournament in the capital city. Natsu's sure his boys will walk away with gold! Even though, you know, they're kinda not that good at anything yet... - Part of the Remember Me Series
1. Chapter 1

The apartment was still when Lucy woke up that morning. All three of her children, husband, and the resident Exceed had taken off for their usual locations. The guild hall, at least once a day, for all of them, for a meal or two, and then off to train for the little boys with Ajax, Lisanna's son, and whichever one of his many aunts and uncles he managed to coerce into teaching them things that day, while Natsu and Happy were just a liable to waste the day drinking or actually do something useful, like pick up another job. Navi seemed to take to hanging about as well, in those days, but less for the drinking aspect of things, but more the stories she heard from the regular drunks the bar produced.

But Lucy didn't feel much up for it that day. She stayed in bed as they all departed and her daughter checked to make sure the woman wasn't feeling ill, but she just assured her this wasn't the case with a bit of a wave. Sometimes you just needed that extra rest.

"Lazy," Happy muttered, annoyed she was getting to be desperately what he wanted for himself. But Natsu said they had to hurry down to the hall because he was starved and they were, once more, without food in the apartment. The Exceed's growling stomach agreed and, well, he could always be lazy up at the bar too.

There was something nice about it though, that the woman didn't get often. Rejuvenating. Her apartment was in a constant state of instability and activity that, when she awoke to find this not the case, she could hardly help, but to go rush and sink into the tub for a bit, alone, and relax.

It had been a year of growth.

Since Navi had returned from the ill-fated Incidio misadventure (though she wasn't sure if it could be classified as such, considering it's competition), things around the apartment changed in little ways, mostly, but in big ones also. The boys were given a bit more responsibility around the house which seemed to just include things that were already expected of them, but were now enforced whether their mother was out or not. Through their father, this time around, rather than their mother.

"And Navi isn't going to clean your gross fish bag for you, Happy," Lucy ordered and the Exceed was rather down about that, but Navi only patted him on the head a week later when he inevitably left one in there a little too long and got the fabric all stinky again.

"Just because I want to," she assured him as she took care of it for him. And he agreed. She didn't have to. But her doing so anyways was what made it special.

Her presence in the hall stifled for a bit as well. Like all the other kids, Haven's departure affected Navi in a certain kind of way as well. She was somewhere between Marin, who was better for it, and Ravan, who missed her in a weird way, but recognized the girl's need to do her own thing. Live her own life. It didn't mean that sometimes, when she was sitting around the hall, Navi's eyes didn't drift around the room, trying to find her. Haven. Place her. But then she'd feel silly because months were going by and she was long gone.

Things were speeding by for the boys too. Though they were rather young, there was nothing more they wanted than to learn magic. Any magic, really, and for awhile, Natsu just worked with them on concentrating it, meditating with it. Feeling what it meant to tap into the magical well inside of them. During those months, the boys considered what they wanted to wield and Natsu was so pumped for it.

"It'll be like when Navi used to go out on jobs with us," Natsu snickered to his wife and Happy a lot, "but better now because there'll be two of them. Two sources of fire. Ripe for the taking. Imagine it! Never will go hungry again."

But as with most things, if one hopes for them a little too much, they'll never quite come out the way you always wanted.

Because one of their son's did want to take after his parents. Just the wrong one.

"Your first," Lucy giggled as they stood in the tiny magic shop, "key."

Iggy didn't nod along, he was too focused staring down at the ones that sat behind the glass case, up at the counter. The man behind it named off each silver key by way too long names that he hardly understood, but he said one, finally, that he caught on to.

"I want that one," he told his mother with a sharp nod of his head. "Can I?"

It was a little expensive, but how could she say no?

She'd taken him out, just the two of them, that day to shop for one and, as he held it tightly in his hand, she could tell how jittery the boy was. He clutched the cool silver key in his one hand as he held tight to his mother's with the other and kept glancing down at it as they went alone, as if certain that it would disappear wtihout every ounce of his attention.

Lucky was out still, with Navi, like Lucy wanted that day when they arrived back home. The boy had a passion for teasing his twin or making jokes out of things, all things, all the time, which she didn't want this to be. Iggy was very serious about it, coming to her with his desire to become a celestial mage. She cautioned him over it, about the importance of choosing a magic that meant something to him, but he only insisted that yes, this is what he wanted.

And how could she deny him that?

"Do you remember?" she prompted that day as they stood alone in the apartment living room. "Iggy? What you have to say?"

Of course.

He'd only heard her say it a billion times.

"Open," he yelled loudly and held his silver key out with pride, "Gate of the Canis Minor. I summon…Nikora!"

He felt it for the first time, she could tell, as Iggy's eyes popped open a bit more. His magic forming and dispersing as he slashed the silver key through the air. Then there he was, in all his glory.

"Wow!" He fell to the floor immediately, the pink haired boy did, to gather the little red dog...blob...spirit into his arms as it shivered with delight. "This is so cool!"

Lucy only giglged though, standing over them. "Remember, Ig, you gotta make a contract."

"Oh, yeah!" Gently, he moved to set the spirit back down as it shivered and grinned up at him, as if uncertain. "Um… What days can you be summoned? Uh… Do you have a name? Or-"

"You can name him," Lucy told him softly and Iggy frowned over at her.

"She," he corrected as the bright red doggy nodded over at the woman. Lucy had her doubts that, not only this didn't really matter, but also if spirits had a true need to be gendered, but…

"Of course," she giggled. "Sorry."

"I'll call you," Iggy was saying then, to his spirit, who just went back to beaming at him, "uh… Hakatoby the Great Water Panther. Like, from the comic?"

"I-Iggy," Lucy tried, but just as quickly, he was patting the spirit on the head.

"But I'll call you Hak for short," he assured the creature and it gave a thumbs up in the affirmative and, well, it was love from then on.

Iggy tapped up the schedule he and Hak devised on the fridge and was very careful to only summon her at the specific times listed. Lucy told him that there was no greater bond, not in the entire world, than a true celestial wizard and their spirits.

"You have to put your entire faith in them," she imparted on them, "so that they will you. Respect them. Always. And they'll never let you down."

Iggy agree and, as far as first spirits went, he thought there was none better than Hak.

His brother though thought that celestial magic was pretty boring and tame and dumb and Natsu just knew it, his boy Lucky, he'd be the one that would come through. Would take after him. His boy. His son.

"Gray's gonna teach me how to do maker magic."

Until this left his mouth and Natsu could only blinked as his own hung agap.

"What do you mean? Huh? Who wants anything to do with ice? When you could-"

"Not ice, Dad," Lucky shrugged some before slamming a fist into the other and his eyes seemed to glow. "I'm gonna make stuff out of light."

"Light?" Natsu groaned. "What does that even mean, Lucky? How can you even do that? Fire is light!"

But it wasn't the same.

And he wasn't sure, really, what he even meant. He imagined himself, like, crafting the sun itself and blasting people away with it. Lofty goals, but Lucky took after his father heavily. Anything was possible. Anything. Just so long as you threw your all into it.

Mrs. Mirajane, the boys' typical babysitter, sat with him sometimes and looked over magical tomes for anything that would be helpful, anything that could teach him something, anything. And he didn't make the sun, the first time he smashed his hand into his open palm and, like Gray told him, imagined just what it was he wanted to create, believe it, in his heart, that he could, but as he yelled out, "Light Make...box?"

And he sounded uncertain of himself, but there it was, a blinding, yellowish, whitish little cube, in his palm. That he'd made. And as Gray nodded at him, Lucky only beamed. It was puny and small, but he'd crafted it.

That was all that mattered.

As annoying and tiring as they all could be, especially the twins, Lucy found herself thinking mostly of her family as she soaked in the tub that late, lazy, morning, and it was with her daughter in mind that she found herself running quickly through the streets of Magnolia, all the way to the guildhall.

It had been after her bath that she decided to go downstairs and check the apartment mail box. She really didn't think anything of it, didn't expect much, and was a bit surprised when she stared at the letter in her hand at first, surprised by it. By the address and the name assigned to it.

"No," she whispered before a grin spread across her face and she dug right into it. "Really?"

She felt like a little girl again, or at least the teen she once was, when Fairy Tail was her everything and the only thing that brought her joy. But the joy was placed differently that day and she could only think of the glee Navi would have once her eyes too fell over the letter.

The twins saw their mother rush in, but were fearful she'd found out about what they were hiding under their beds (it definitely wasn't a shoe box full of firecrackers she'd confiscated last time they almost blew the house up; nope, no way) and kind stayed silent over at their table with their best friend Ajax, who was happily boasting about this cool new back flip he'd learned, off the roof of his Uncle Laxus' place. Iggy had summed Hak and she seemed to be the only one listening, but that was because Ajax, a true lover of animals (and he seemed to consider her one) was never without a treat for the spirit.

But she didn't come to reprimand them, rather, stopping before where her daughter sat with Locke, the man sharing all that had happened on the job from which he'd just returned.

"Navi," Lucy said excitedly as her eyes were alight and she clutched something in her hands. "I have something for you."

Locke frowned, just from the glee the older woman was expressing, but Navi just stood up and held out her hand in curiousity.

"I didn't tell you about it because I was afraid I wouldn't get a response or something, but remember how you've always wanted to go to the capital? And see where the Grand Magic Games were held?" Lucy was quick to hand over the letter. "Well, I wrote to Queen Hisui and-"

"T-This is a letter from the..." Navi couldn't even read it then as she began to shake, just from the thought. "You really wrote to-"

"Well, we do have a history together and I thought, even if it was just-"

"I can't believe you-"

"She's invited," Lucy went on because she had a feeling her daughter was only going to continue to freak over the entire concept, "us to the Capital. To speak with her."

"Actually," Locke spoke up then. Navi had dropped the letter in her surprise and he took over reading it, "it says here that she's invited Fairy Tail to the 21 and under tournament and-"

"21 and under what?"

"Natsu," Lucy complained as he came out of nowhere to snatch the letter and look it over himself. "It's not about-"

"It says that she's disappointed," the slayer went on, "'cause she always invites us but we never go. What's this tournament? Does anyone-"

"Dad gets invited to that every year." Marin was by, serving drinks and shrugged at them a bit as she passed. "He never wanted to go because he didn't want Haven to embarrass the guild."

By either being a super sore winner or loser. She definitely would have been. Laxus still stood by that. Or sat by it, over where he was, at his Master's table with Freed, going over paperwork.

Locke frowned some, at the mention of the girl, but the Natsu only snorted.

"So 'cause you didn't want your daughter to succeed, you didn't want ours to either? What's the deal, man?"

"Natsu," his wife warned that time, but he was rushing over with the letter to Laxus then. "You get invited by the royal family to the capital and you just-"

"I ain't takin' anyone in this damn place anywhere," the slayer snarled with a fronw. "That tournament is a farce. A bunch of little brats get together and battle it out for jewels and a title. The brats around here are better off getting a title and jewels from jobs. The cost of going alone is just too much to-"

"We'll all cover our own cost, Master." Lucy was coming over then, but her tone was much more respectful. Snatching the letter back from her husband, she said, "I don't really care about the tournament, but Navi and I are going to go and visit with her if that's-"

"Do whatever the fuck you want. I-"

"Oi, boss, what about poor Ajax, eh? He's under twenty-one, ain't ya, kid?"

Laxus groaned as Bickslow was at the table then.

"I am!" Ajax was leaving the twins behind then to rush over as well. "Uncle Laxus, don't you remember that back flip I did off your house yesterday? I'd kick a bunch of butt in a tournament!"

"But Navi and I," Lucy kept up as the slayer just glared at his body guard (not his nephew; he loved his nephew...sort of), "can go, right, Master? I mean-"

"Let everyone go, Laxus." Mirajane, finally, arrived from behind the bar to refill her husband's ale and take the letter herself, to give it a once over. "At least Navi and Lucy, to speak with the Queen. You don't deny the Queen. And I've told you for years that we should let the kids participate in the-"

"What kids, Mira?" He gestured about. "Most of the teens are out on a job. Like they should be. And you have to be down there to report within-"

"I'm here," Ajax insisted to his master. "Please, Uncle Laxus? I can do it! I'll flip right over the competition."

"Yeah, boss," his father insisted. "He'll flip 'em right off!"

"It does appear, Laxus," Freed offered softly as Mirajane passed the letter off to him finally as he'd been staring at her expectantly before, "as if you are stifling, or have been stifling, the children in the guild. Not allowing them to get their names-"

"You think I entered tournaments? Huh? People leanred to fear the name Laxus Dreyar through my own-"

"Let," Mira told him then, darkly, "Ajax go."

He snorted again, but the boy knew that one well. It was the 'giving into my wife' one that his uncle had down so well.

"A master has to go though," the slayer griped, "to the tournament. And I..."

He was going to inform them that he didn't want to. Go to the capital. At all. For the year of growth the Dragneel's were having, the Dreyar family was stuck in a standstill. If not regression. Laxus spent most of his days in his office, drinking, and Mirajane hadn't spoken to him kindly, truly, since...since…

"We can all go." He decided it suddenly. But it wasn't the shining smile of his nephew that made him say this. Rather, it was as his gaze leveled on his wife and he thought about it, the two of them in the capital, away from the daily grind of the guild and, maybe, even able to go out, to dinner or something, and then...then…he realized it was for the best. "Anyone who wants to pay their own damn way can. Enter. If you want. Fine. Whatever."

He shoved up then, to head off to his office, while Ajax just rushed back over to the now animated twins as they two were certain their parents would foot the bill for them to take their mediocre skills all the way up to the capital just to lose.

But there were learning in loss.

And a lot more in a meeting with a queen…

"You could enter. Locke."

The man blinked as he'd sat once more, back down to his food, frowning some as Marin came over to refill his drink.

"You're not twenty one yet," she pointed out. "You know. You could enter and-"

"That's kid stuff. Tournaments." He even snorted, but, suddenly, did raise his head and say, "But I might go. Still. I've never been to the capital before. And Navi will wanna hang out with someone other than her mother, I bet."

"And father and brothers," Marin added.

Then, together, they both mentioned, "And Happy," as the Exceed came flying in from downstairs, interested in all the commotion.

"Where ya been, little buddy?" Natsu complained a bit. "You missed it! The boys are enterin' a tournament!"

"I was with Carla and Wend- What?" The Exceed fell out of the air, right onto the table they'd tall gathered around. As Lucky only grinned and Iggy snuggled Hak, the Exceed scratched some at his head. "Are you sure that…uh...Natsu-"

"And I," Navi informed him as she came over to pat her brothers each on their heads, "am going to meet with the Queen."

"Yeah, Navi, that's great, but- Wait, what exactly all did I miss?" the feline asked and Lucy, finally back with the letter, came to place it in her daughter's hands once more.

"The train, probably," Lucy told him. "We're all paying our own way. And unless you have some jewels in that satchel of yours-"

"Natsu, Lucy's bullying me again."

"How is it bullying to expect you to-"

"A tournament." Natsu punched the air in excitement. "I'm getting fired up just from the thought!"

"It's not for you, you know," his wife pointed out. "And I don't want you causing any problems in Crocus."

"Problems?" He snickered. "No way. I'm just going to support my boys. And you, Nav. I'll be on my best behavior."

"Why," she grumbled, "do I doubt that?"

Experience, probably.

Marin was pretty happy too though, as she told Erza and Kai all about it over dinner that night. She'd arrived at the Scarlet house to find he pair of them arguing a bit as the teenager insisted, without a doubt, that he was completely capable of putting together dinner all on his own.

He wasn't, but Erza and Marin were gulping down the hot mess of a soup he'd presented them with little complaints.

Recently, Kai had gotten an independent streak. Sort of. Mostly, he started to do his own laundry and pack his own lunches when he was planning on leaving town to go fishing. Erza marked this down as an improvement, at least, and tried hard to be supportive.

Which, at the moment, meant eating a salty bowl of boiled potato water.

"Wow. The Queen, huh? You met her before, haven't you, Erza?" Kai sighed at the thought. "I hear that she's, like, one of the most beautiful women in all of Fiore. But then, I also hear that about you sometimes, Erza, and, well-"

"Do not make me send you to bed without dinner, Kai. In front of your friend."

But he only snickered down at himself as Marin hummed.

"I'll go," she was quick to inform the two of them. "To the capital. It'll be my first time and there's a lot I wanna see there. Not to mention, I have to support Ajax. And the twins. And… Oh, wow, we don't have anyone to fight in the older teen category. Locke said no and most everyone else eligible is out on jobs or-"

"I am looking at two more eligible than any other," Erza said simply and Kai's snickers stopped.

"Erza," he started, but she only shook her head.

"One of you," she insisted, "must compete. It is only right. Do you not wish to fight for the honor of your guild? Does Fairy Tail not inspire you? Win or lose, to show your face in front of so many, proudly wearing the emblem, should be a point of pride."

Not to mention, she couldn't figure a way to get out of having to hold down the fort back in Magnolia for Laxus, who she had no doubt would ask (and she always did what her Master asked...even when he was a bit of an asshole master…), other than Kai competing.

"And Marin," she went on as she leveled her gaze at the girl, "this will be one of the few times you are able to truly test your limits of your Dragon Slayer Magic. Do you not wish, even a little, for such a chance? I understand meekness, but not cowardice."

"Marin's no coward," Kai insisted. "She's as tough as anybody!"

"And yourself?"

"Oh, no, I'm a big coward, Erza, so-"

"Kai-"

"W-Well, I've never been in are fight before," Marin whispered softly then. "And I don't think that my father will-"

"One of you," the woman ordered them that time, gaze heavy, and neither considered her a master, not really, but still, they felt as if they were being scolded by one, "will enter."

And that was final.

There were not many days to get it all together, but eventually, a select few of Fairy Tail found themselves boarding a train bound for the capital city.

As Laxus and Natsu suddenly were reminded why going to the capital sucked so much (by vehicle, at least), the others were spread out across carts. Marin sat with her Aunt Lisanna, Uncle Bickslow, and Ajax, the little boy regaling them all with different spells and tricks he knew. Her Aunt Evergreen and Elfman were going as well, to support their nephew, as well as Freed, though he sat with Laxus and Mirajane. The couple weren't speaking, as they typically didn't, and Freed only fretted over his Master as Laxus braved the long train travel with the best stoic face he could pull.

He was just glad his daughter was too busy with her cousin to notice…

"Erza, can't I go sit with Marin?" Kai whined, openly, as she forced him to sit beside her and go over a big book of magical spells. "Tournaments aren't crash courses. This isn't going to help me with anything!"

But the woman knew no reason and, ugh..

The twins spent the long train ride giggling at their father and explaining to their mother, in great detail, just how great they were getting, at their magic, and Iggy had full faith that he and Hak could pull off anything.

"You nervous?"

That's what Locke asked Navi as they sat alone, away from all the others, just by themselves. She sat beside him for once and it felt weird, wrong, but it took Navi a few moments to pinpoint why. Then she just sighed, staring heavily out the window.

"A little," she admitted and he laughed, softly, at her.

"You should be, I guess," he said. "Going to see the Queen of Fiore and all."

"Thanks, Locke."

"No, I just… It's pretty cool, isn't it? It's easy to forget all that they did before. Our parents."

Navi hummed, thinking, before saying, "I just don't know what I'll ask her. If I can ask her things. I hope she lets me write about them. Her experiences and… I shouldn't think about that stuff, I know, get ahead of myself. I should just be glad that she's willing to see me. What do you even wear? To meet a queen? My mom said we'd go shopping, when we got to Crocus, but-"

"You'll be alright, Navi." He sounded certain, Locke did, as he patted her on the head softly. Just once. Then his hand was falling to his lap once more. "Nerves are good, prepping is even better, but I know it won't matter anyways. You'll meet with the queen, have tons of new material to write about, flesh out your stories, and maybe, soon, you'll try and wrap it up? What you've been working on? Do you think?"

"Maybe," she sighed softly as her eyes drifted back out the window, watching all the passing scenery. "I just wanna get it all right. That's all."

"I'll be the first to read it," he promised, but he was distracted then, with the notebook before him, as he began glancing over some writings he had there. Not fiction, like her. Or nonfiction. Whatever. No. Just spells. Lots and lots of spells. "Think I can get it signed?"

She smiled at her reflection. "If you're willing to wait in line for it, yeah."

And it was awkward sometimes, just the two of them, but they were still them. Different, but not so much that it wasn't still there. Their friendship. It was buried a bit, maybe, in those days, but nothing a good trip to the pride of Fiore couldn't fix.

It would be the best decision of her life, Navi was sure, going to Crocus would be. And all because her mother wrote a little letter. A pipe dream of a letter. Navi would have questioned the odds, but she remembered before she did, that she was a Dragneel; they knew no odds, only successes.

* * *

**Short little five chapter where we'll give Navi some time, just a bit, to close up her story as she'll fade out some, in the final arcs. Not to mention, the twins and Ajax deserve some attention before we finish up. I'll go back eventually, of course, and give them some one-shots and things, to flesh them out, but for now, this is their moment. **


	2. Chapter 2

Crocus had to be the most beautiful city that Navi had ever visited. Mongolia was nice and buzzed with activity, but Crocus positively radiated a vibrant aura of life that no other city could ever match. As she strolled through the streets, alone finally, for the moment, she couldn't help the smile that spread across her face.

"Your dad has to, uh, rest," Lucy offered her daughter as Natsu staggered off the train in a heap, much to the amusement of his twin boys. "And Iggy and Lucky are gonna go with Ajax to get all registered. If Lisanna and Bickslow'll take them-"

"Of course we will," the woman assured as she passed by as well, just to give Natsu a sympathetic glance before smiling at the twins. "You'll have to hurry though, to catch Ajax. He and Bickslow are already sprinting off to get down there."

"Down where?" Elfman complained after them. "You don't even know where you're headed!"

No, but all that mattered, really, was that you got there first. Regardless of the location.

"Natsu and I'll go to the hotel," Lucy went on to Navi, "and rest up. You can explore the city, if you want. With Locke."

But the older guy keyed in almost immediately on a bar and Navi just wasn't as into all that as the others, so when they parted, she planned to enjoy her free time in the capital city wandering aimless as she considered the days to come.

The tournament would start the following day and, barring any oddities, her brothers would be competing in the ten and under portion. She was excited to see this, to see them, even if, well, she was certain they wouldn't yield many impressive wins, but it should be good fun all the same. And Ajax was in the young teen category, which meant he'd probably be facing someone pretty tough. She hoped well for him as well.

Mostly though, she could only focus on her own future task. Meeting with the Queen.

Letting out a slow breath, she decided not to stress about it anymore. Not as she got an ice cream cone from a vendor or when she sat at a fountain to eat it. There was nothing more she could do than stress herself out further. And she didn't want that. Her father claimed that Queen Hisui was hardly anyone to get all worked up about and to just chill.

So that's what she tried to do.

Chill.

Besides, it wouldn't be long from then that something else caught her attention.

After her ice cream, she was going to go see if she could find those gardens Lisanna had mentioned to her. She said they were beautiful and really something best experienced alone.

"So," the woman had told her all the way back at the guildhall, where she was trying to stop her son, at that moment, from jumping off the upstairs balcony while her husband only nodded in the affirmative, "you can take it all in. Really take it all in."

Hoping such a scene would help calm her down, Navi was not prepared, in the slightest, when she caught sight of her. The other girl's back was to her, but she just got a sense, across the crowded street, Navi did, the second she caught a glimpse of her.

"Haven!"

Unable to stop herself, Navi rushed right over to grab the back of the girl's arm and force her to turn. It was only once she met the girl's blue eyes that Navi remembered the last time they spoke. OR didn't, really, speak, as Navi had kind of shut down any attempt at it.

She couldn't help it though. At all. Just from the sight of the other girl, after so long, Navi tossed her arms around her immediately, pulling her in for a tight squeeze.

"I can't believe," Navi whispered softly, "that you're here."

"Why are you?" was the first thing she heard Haven say in nearly seventeen months. "In the capital? Is...something going on? Or-"

"What? No." And as she took a few steps back, she was very aware of herself then, as well as everyone about. "We're here for the Tournament of Youth. My brothers are in it and eveyrone's here and you have to come with me! Oh, we can probably find everyone at-"

"I have things to do, Navi." And she had. Surprise was slowly draining from her face and Haven was nodding towards the direction she was walking. "I'm kind of busy."

Glancing over there, she saw who she was nodding towards. Outside a shop stood there men about their age, one of which that was staring their way. Clearly, they were waiting for the blonde.

"Are those your friends? Or, oh, are you in a guild?" Navi couldn't help it. She bounced some at the idea. "Where is it? What town? Are you guys in the tourn-"

"Navi."

"Sorry. I just… I haven't seen you in forever."

"That happens, I guess," Haven said simply and she wasn't being an asshole, didn't have an ounce of bitchiness in her tone, and yet somehow, she felt much colder then, than she had the last time they spoke. "When you move away."

"Everyone will be so excited to see you," the younger of the pair insisted then. "Your sister and parents are both here. I think Kai's going to be in the tournament? Or something? Oh, and your cousin, Ajax, he's- They really wanted me to stop talking to you, huh?"

Haven glanced over, once more, at the group of guys. They were still just standing there, in front of a shop, all three staring now. Quite heavily. Navi couldn't help it. She giggled some and she hadn't been nearly this bubbly, not in years, and it was fucking with Haven's already crumbling control.

"Are you dating one of them?" Navi asked as her eyes fell back to her former guild mate. "Haven?"

"Navi, I can't-"

"We can talk about it all later. Right? You'll be around? Tell me what inn you're standing at-"

"I'll be," Haven told her simply then as she turned to walk off, "around. I'm in the tournament. You better hope we don't run into one another."

And it took everything in Navi not to grab onto her arm, to hold her there, so they could talk just a little bit longer. But as Haven met up with those guys once more, the pink haired girl could only stare and wonder. Haven didn't look back at her though and, eventually, as the blonde walked away, she and her group were lost in the crowd.

Not that it mattered.

Navi knew exactly what she had to do.

As she rushed through the crowded Crocus streets, it wasn't in search of her parents or Haven's. No. Just the bar she'd last seen Locke.

Natsu was feeling pretty good about the time she was doing all this and he and Lucy headed out to find their sons. It wasn't difficult. They were rushing back with Ajax to the designated inn, to show off the cool paper they'd gotten, all three, with lists and rules that they definitely weren't reading.

"Ah, Luce'll do all that," Natsu was quick to tell them. "For you too, Ajax. She likes that sorta stuff."

"Uh, no," she was quick to say, "I don't. But...I guess I will."

"Have you seen sis and Laxus?" Lisanna asked the pair as they all met up once more. "Did they go back to the inn? After the train? I forgot to ask."

"I forgot all about them," Lucy admitted, but her attention was taken then as she saw Natsu and her sons rushing off. "Where are you guys-"

"You can go hang out with Navi, huh?" Natsu called over his shoulder as Happy flew after them. "Me and the boys are gonna go get ready for their matches tomorrow!"

"What does that even mean? Are you training?"

Nah.

Just binge eating and talking shop.

Ajax though was taking the next day far more seriously. He was at the bottom of his age bracket and prepared for any and all chances that he might be facing someone at the top of it. He immediately insisted that his Uncle Elf and father take him out of the city, so that he could find somewhere to train, and well, who could hate that? Determination and perseverance was men were made of!

That's what Uncle Elf said and, man, Ajax loved when he did.

"I can't do this, Erza, please, I'm gonna get hurt. Have you seen some of the people here? I'll do whatever you want, but fighting-"

"Kai, stop whining."

He couldn't help it.

"I'll do it," Marin sighed as they waited in the line for final day registration. Her friend looked absolutely terrified and, as Erza only studied her, the girl tried not to mimic this. "If one of us has to, I guess it should be me."

Kai agreed.

Marin was always the one that dealt with the brute force side of things. Kai was more of a deep thinker. Rarely was he thinking about anything of importance or insightful, but he thought deeply about the inconsequential all the same.

"You're a girl," Kai offered up as Erza nodded in the affirmative at Marin's tribute. "Whoever it is will go super easy on you."

Erza didn't like this though and, as she lectured him, Marin only took a few deep breaths and convinced herself that, yes, she could do this. And no, it wasn't a bad idea at all.

Since her sister had left the guildhall, she'd actually begun training, very lightly and timidly. Nothing serious. She mostly begun to study spells more strictly and Locke helped her out some, when he was bored up at the hall, with finding ones that would benefit her.

"It's just precautionary," she told her father who wasn't pleased with this interest of hers. If Marin was anyone else, she might be offended that by the age most kids were beginning to make their own way in the magical world, he was still treating her, a Dragon Slayer, such a way. But no, Marin was rather content with her life as a barmaid and fine with being 'the help'. She had few higher aspirations and it was true what she was telling him. "I just...need to take the pressure off."

And Laxus understood that, at least. When you had that much ability swirling around inside of you, it built up at times and he didn't want that for the poor girl. The lacrima had done it's job and kept her through the uncertain years of sickly childhood. If it now wanted retribution in the form of releasing some of that power, so be it.

He just didn't want his youngest out on jobs.

Ever.

Still, as she stood in line, she knew he wouldn't be pleased. At all. But...she couldn't send Kai out there unprepared. And oh, he was super unprepared. He could still do his little earth shaking, ground thing. And toss a seed or two around. But other than that, he was kind of...well…

Kai never wanted to be a mage. Not a serious one. He wanted to be a fisherman. From the time they were kids, that was the only thing he ever wanted and it was wrong, Marin felt, for Erza to be forcing him to do something else. Especially when he was clearly so nervous. Tough love was something that worked well for Ravan, fine, but Erza was barking up the wrong tree with Kai.

Like with everything else, it was Marin's job to make sure that he got through it okay. The tournament. And if that meant taking his place in it, then fine, that was just what she was going to have to do.

"I am proud of you," Erza congratulated after the forms were all filled out for her and the trio set off for the inn to see if anyone still stuck around. "You have so much power inside of you, Marin. It is yours to choose what to do with it, but I urge of you, do not let it be in vain."

"I'm proud of you too!" Kai had his hand tightly clasped in hers and could only grin. The feel of the city didn't feel so overpowering then and, laughing a bit in his glee, he said, "Now I can focus on what's really important."

"What's that?" Erza asked with a frown, but she already had a bit of an idea.

But...they needed something to eat, anyways.

The sun was just beginning to fall from the sky as Navi skidded to a stop in the overly crowded bar, spotting Locke easily as he sat up at the bar, a beer in one hand, having a conversation with some woman. And that brought some hesitance to Navi, it really did, because he was clearly...well… And to bring up Haven then…

But if she didn't...then Locke would get upset, once he found out that she knew and didn't tell him. And maybe he was just talking, was all. Being conversation. No game to be spat. Yeah, that had to be that. He was a grown man, anyways, and what he did with the information she gave to him was his choice.

"Locke." And she had to speak loudly, it was so bustling and busy in there, hand rested on his arm as she head to lean in close, so he could hear her. The man seemed surprised to find her beside him and the woman he was speaking to didn't seem too pleased either, but Navi only said, "Haven's here."

He blinked at her. Then frowned.

"Here?"

"Not here, Locke," she griped as he took to looking all about, trying to place their friend. "In Crocus. She's in the tournament. And...well, I think she might have threatened me, if I entered, but-"

"Where is she? You spoke to her? Was she-"

"She didn't want to come with me," Navi told him with a bit of a shrug. "But you could try and find her, I guess. Or see her when she comes to see her family. She'll do that, now that she knows they're here. Don't you think?"

But he couldn't think. Because it had been over a year since he'd been able to do so and everything else had just been auto pilot, but that was breaking down now and Haven was here? Haven? Was here? Close to him? Near him? In the same town? Haven?

As he was rushing to pay his tab though, Natsu was only stacking his up somewhere, across town, while his sons watched in amazement at all their father put away.

"I bet the fire in his belly burns up all the food," Iggy told his brother, "so he has to eat a bunch. 'cause it all just turns to ash."

"I bet he just likes to eat," Lucky countered and, yeah, well, they could both be a bit right at times.

Natsu was in the middle of chowing down though when he suddenly felt someone clap their hand on his shoulder. Looking up, he found it to be the grinning face of someone who could put back just as much as he.

"Natsu!" Sting Eucliffe beamed happily at him. "Don't tell me you're here for the tournament?"

"Nope," Happy said around a fish head he was sucking on. "He's way older than 21. Can't you tell?"

"That's not what he meant." And that came from Lector, who came to land on the table beside the other Exceed. "And hey, Happy, how ya been?"

Considering he was currently eating fish?

"I've been great!"

"For my boys, here, yeah," Natsu said as he stood to face the other slayer. "I guess you're here for the same?"

"Well, some of us aren't family men," the guild master snickered as he looked over at the boys who only stared at him in wonder, "but guild masters have to come with their contestants, so sort of, I guess. I thought Laxus was against this thing though."

Natsu only shrugged. "Just took a bit of convincing, was all."

From a demon.

Wives had a way about that.

"Iggy. Lucky." He nodded to his boys in turn. "This is Sting. He's a Dragon Slayer too. A guild mast-"

"We've met before," his blonde child reminded as Sting only grinned at them, reaching over to shake both boy's hands. "Dad."

Had they? Natsu could only scratch his head and shrug.

If they said so.

"You boys are competing, huh?" Sting whistled low. "Don't know if I got anyone from my guild in the ten and under, but we'll be seeing ya, when you get a bit above. You got faith in yourselves?"

The upmost.

After they nodded in the affirmative, he questioned then, "You gonna tell me about your magics? Or should be I be surprised?"

"Me and my friend Hak like to keep our secrets to ourselves," Iggy told the man with a nod of his head while Lucky only jumped right out of his seat.

A chance to show off his skills? Nothing better!

"He's kinda like you," Natsu said with a bit of a shrug. "I guess, when you think about it. But-"

"I use maker magic," Lucky cut his father off as he slammed one fist into another. "Light make arrow!"

And it was a pathetic attempt as it zoomed from his fists over to Sting, but the man only grabbed it right out of the air, tossing it back with a grin.

"If you were my kid," he said with a bright kid, "I'd take ya everywhere!"

"Till they leave you," Natsu remarked with a bit of a frown and perhaps a bit of reflection. "To...write."

Gross.

Who needed writing when you could live?

But Lucky beamed with pride as Sting patted him on the head.

"Guess it's a good thing we don't have anyone in the under ten, eh, Lector?" he offered as the cat only shrugged.

"It's not like anyone could take down Saber Tooth anyways," the Exceed said though, when he saw the frowns of the boys, he was quick to add, "but I guess it's better to not have to find out, huh?"

Laxus was finding out a lot that day. Well, he would, eventually, but at the moment, he was finding out that his wife was not going to just be all over him because he took her out to look at the wonder of the city and he was kind of realizing why they were both avoiding one another so much in those days.

Because they were absolutely miserable together.

After Freed left them at the train station, headed to get a scope, he said, on the enemies (he was one of Ajax's most spirited supporters), the slayer was feeling a bit out of sorts, but pushed the feeling deep down as he suggested to the woman they just take a stroll.

"A stroll," she repeated and he nodded and they used to do stuff like that, didn't they?

Before they got so disconnected from one another?

Mirajane seemed suspect though and Laxus wasn't exactly putting on his best face, so even lunch was awkward as they really had nothing to talk about. They never had anything to talk about. Not anymore. Laxus drank all day and Mira worked all day and they did all of this in the proximity of one another.

How did they suddenly, after nearly two decades together, have nothing to talk about? When they'd been doing all of that together before? While having things to discuss?

It wasn't like they could just blame it all on Haven and her absence. At all. It had been bubbling beneath the surface for years before that. All of her drama had just provided them a safety net. Not talking? Bitch about Haven. Arguing about how much you were slowly starting to dislike one another? Hey, did you notice Haven being super annoying instead? Focus on that. Now though, Mira seemed to be in a constant state of upset over the whole Haven thing (sort of; he was pretty sure she was over it and just using it as a crutch) and just over him completely. It didn't help that he was drinking more than ever and the guild was exceeding, fine, but their marriage was failing at just as quickly a rate.

Was that why most Master's were single? Or was it just him fucking up his own marriage?

"Did you wanna wander around some more? Demon? Or-"

"Let's go to the inn," she told him with a bit of a shrug. "I'm sure the twins and Ajax are there, preparing."

Well, one was preparing, out of the city, and the other two were mostly goofing off, but all three would have been glad to hear their favorite babysitter had such high hopes for their future as wizards.

Locke couldn't even think of the tournament anymore though or Navi's whole stupid...what was Navi doing again? He didn't know anymore. He had one goal in mind and it was kind of impossible, considering the size of the city, and what was he going to do, anyways? When he found her? Haven?

He should be angry, he knew. She left without telling him anything. Anything. No, actually, she did. She did tell him something. She told him that she was going to wait for him, that she was going to speak with him, that she would consider what he had to say and that they would see one another again and fuck her. Fuck Haven. That was so much worse than just not saying goodbye. Stealing a goodbye from him, some actual damn closure or clarity or...or…

He wanted to slug her. Attack her. When he saw her. But then he wondered if he was even allowed to do that now? It had been the way they settled thing since they were kids. Sure, int hat year of dating, they didn't do it as much, but they still trained together and they were just rough people. They'd been raised that way. But… That was when they were guild mates. When they were friends. Would it be wrong to hit Haven now?

Would it be like hitting a girl?

A woman?

Shit. Was Haven that now? A woman? Or girl? And that made her off limits for beating the shit out of when she was acting like an asshole? Or was she still whatever the fuck she was before leaving the guild?

It didn't matter. Whether he hit her or not, he was pissed, super pissed, and he was going to let her have it. Know it.

How could you do that? To someone you loved? She hadn't written him a single damn letter, talked to him on a single lacrima, fuck, she sent Ajax a gift, in the mail, for his birthday.

Did Locke get a gift? From his...his…

What was Haven to him now? Even? More than just the questionable ethics about slugging her one, he had to wonder what they were to one another on a base level. They were broken up, if over a year without contact told him anything, but were they still friends? Were they now not even that? Should he not even be looking for her? Because silence was all the closure someone needed?

Why had Navi fucking told him she was there? Huh? The city was massive and he was never going to find her and he was getting all worked up and Pantherlily wasn't there to remind him to check his rage, because he was fucking raging then, and he was going to slug someone, anyone, Haven or not, and he was going to get so drunk that night, in a bar, and get into a fight, and he'd hate if it got Ajax or the twins in trouble, Navi in trouble, because they were all apart of Fairy Tail, but fuck it, he didn't care.

Locke didn't care.

About anything.

How could you? When the one thing that you gave your all to, that you cared about more than yourself, just spit on every single kind thing you ever fucking did for her every chance she got and you were okay with that, honest, you could love her through that, and the idea of that, that you could put up with all her dumb, moody shit, well, then she'd hightail it out of there because who wanted to be with someone who loved and supported you through all of your worst moments? When all of your moments were, arguably, the worst?

"Haven."

She'd seen him before he approached, but still only sat there, one some cafe patio with some other people, at a table, having drinks it seemed. As he approached, she'd only watched with wide eyes, but once he was in front of her, before her, she seemed to stumble a bit as she got to her feet.

"Locke." She swallowed some, as he watched, before offering out a soft, "Hey."

He wanted to hit her. Right in the mouth. It's what he'dda done if he was still a little boy and she was a little girl, maybe, whatever the fuck she was, a demonic little dragon shit who would have slugged him right back, but they weren't that anymore. She was a woman and he was a man and if he hit her right then, especially with her being an ex, it probably wouldn't go the way he wanted.

But standing before her then, he found he didn't want to do that at all. Not just because it wouldn't look good (Haven would, probably, just hit him back and then they'd tussle and get broken up by the guards or whatever patrolled Crocus), but… When he reached for her, it was with both arms, and as he hugged her, it didn't matter anymore.

None of it mattered anymore.

It was different, with him, it seemed, that it had been with Navi as she returned the hug, and he wasn't sure how their breathing both got synced so well, so easily, was it always? The entire year away? Because as he let out a breath, she took one in and he was just glad she was there.

"Who's this? Haven?"

She was shoving him back then and the moment was ended by the voice of one of the three men that sat around the table with her. Locke looked them over for the first time. There was a wiry one, sitting on the edge of his seat, hunched over and rubbing his hands together as he stared with dark eyes at Locke. The tall one beside him seemed indifferent as he just continued to toss a coin in the air, where it would land in his waiting palm only to toss it again.

It was the third one though that spoke and that Haven's eyes seemed to be on as well. He sat back with ease, tilting back in his chair some, and just from the look he was giving him, even though it was meant to look easy-going and free, Locke could tell what the exact problem was.

"It's Locke," she said simply, as if anyone at the table should know who he was, but it didn't matter, anyways, because she wasn't sticking around for questions. She was grabbing his wrist then, Locke's and tugged on it. "Pay for me. I'll pay you back later."

"Where ya goin', Haven?" he asked that time and even laughed, just a bit, as he did. When he got the bird returned from the blonde, he laughed some more. "Yeah, I figured."

"Haven." Locke felt weird, saying her name himself then, like it was foreign. It didn't carry the same weight, the way that other guy said it. "Where are we-"

"Let's get a drink."

"You were having a drink."

"Locke." She stopped too, dragging him along, when they were far enough away from the patio. Staring at him with dark eyes, she dropped his wrist. "Do you wanna talk or not?"

When he could only nod, she started walking briskly again and he was quick to follow.

"I'll buy," she offered and he only snorted.

Still, he found himself following along regardless.


	3. Chapter 3

Marin was a bundle of nerves as, upon returning to the inn, Erza instructed her to speak with her father before coming to the swordwoman's room.

"There is much," she told her simply, "to discuss."

"What should I do?" Kai asked.

"Whatever cowards do."

Right.

Nap.

Alone, Marin wrapped her knuckles gently against her parent's hotel door, kind of sort of hoping they weren't inside or just were resting or something and turned her away and-

"Come in," Laxus grumbled from the other side. Then, because he only knew of one person who would knock so gently, he added, "Marin."

They were both in there, her parents were. Laxus was seated on the tiny couch in the room, flipping through a newspaper, while Mirajane was in the adjoining bathroom. At the entrance of her daughter, she opened the door though and poked her head out.

"I'm just taking off my makeup," her mother said simply. "Your father and I aren't going to dinner. I figured you could with Kai and-"

"I actually wanted to talk about something else," she told them both as she came to stand in the center of the unfamiliar room, glancing first over at where her mother stood, in the bathroom doorway, and then to her father, who was still engrossed in his paper. "Dad."

He lowered it some then, to give her part of his eyes, and she nodded as she went on.

"I was in line with Kai, while he was going to register, and he was just freaking out so much and I had to do something, so-"

"I thought," the slayer growled, "that you told me he was gay?"

"What?"

"Laxus," Mira complained from the bathroom. "I really don't think...whatever it is that you think, is what she's about to tell us."

Better not be.

He'd always had a bad feeling about Kai. But not the same one he got from the boy's brother. No. It was a surprise to learn he wasn't interested in girls (sort of; he thought the boy wouldn't be interested in anything, really, other than being an utter failure), but he never really saw his daughter, his baby, as being interested in that schmuck anyways. To learn the option was completely off the table really brightened up the slayer's quickly darkening world.

If that were taken away from him, he might do something really stupid.

"I joined the tournament in his place."

He was going to do something really stupid.

That's what they didn't get. What no one got. Marin wasn't strong, like the others. Like anyone. She was meek and gentle and kind and sweet and just a little girl. Not like Haven. Or Navi, even. They had something in them, even if it was just a tiny bit in the latter's case. A drive. A purpose.

Marin had none.

She was supposed to die, he was always certain, when she was a baby. She was so sick, so often, and never well. If it hadn't been for the lacrima, something probably would have taken her from them. It hadn't, which he was thankful for, but that just meant that she was marked. By death. So young. That shit didn't go away. If he let her put herself in harms way, if he just invited tragedy the possibility of coming in, he'd lose her.

He would lose his baby.

"No one in a tournament," Mira told him as he seethed and raged and she sent Marin off, out the door, because she didn't need to see her father lose his cool like he was (again...for the billionth time), "is trying to kill someone. To seriously hurt them. Honestly, Laxus, who would do something like that?"

He didn't know.

But it was a risk he couldn't take.

"It's not just death, Mira. What if she gets hurt? Huh? Just injured? No. No. Fuck Erza and her stupid little bratty kid. He was the one that wanted to be the tournament-"

"I really don't think so."

"-so he's going to be in it. Not Marin. Not my kid. No. I refuse. I-"

"It's not really up to you."

"Mira-"

"If she wants to do it, Laxus," she finished with that finality in her tone, "then she's going to be. There's nothing you, or I, can do about it. Why don't you have faith in your daughter?"

He wasn't sure, but none existed. That was just it.

Haven had gotten all his power, all her mother's strength, and both their prowess in battle. She was the planned baby. The one they put everything into. Marin was an accident who was gifted every weak quality the pair possessed. If it wasn't for that lacrima, he doubted she'd even have any desire for magic at all.

"I should," he growled to himself as he stopped his stalking around the room, "given that lacrima to Haven."

But he shouldn't have. It would have done nothing to help his already pigheaded daughter learn humility. She was exhibiting the little bit she did have though, somewhere else in town, seated alone at a table with Locke in a crowded bar, her eyes shifting around more than they were focusing on her.

"Well?" he prompted after they had their drinks. His face was still set in a glare and, ugh, Haven hated it. After a year away, you'd think she'd miss it. Being glared at by the Redfox boy. But she definitely didn't. "Haven? Are you going to-"

"Are you in the tournament?"

"What?" Locke's glare only darkened. "No, I'm not in the dumb tournament. I-"

"I am."

He wasn't surprised. Even had Navi not already informed him of this, he wouldn't have been. Haven was the exact type these tournaments were built for. The flashiness, self-confidence. Fighting, tooth and nail. Being ranked. Highly ranked. The chance to stand over every single one of your peers and yell, in their faces, that you were better than they ever dreamed of being.

It's why Laxus always kept her away from them.

No need to further her ego.

"I thought maybe we could fight," she was going on with a bit of a shrug. "But I should've known you were too much of a-"

"Why didn't you see me before you left?"

And she almost bit her tongue at his bluntness. She hid this by lifting her mug up to her lips to take a swig. After, the teen just glared.

"I did."

"Haven-"

"I saw you and spoke with you and-"

"You said we'd talk again." He couldn't help it. He was growling, just slightly. At her. At Haven. Again. It was almost too much for his mind to process. "That you would see me again. Before you left."

"Things happened."

"Haven-"

"Shouldn't you just be glad that we're here? Right now?"

"No."

"Locke-"

"I would have never done that to you, Haven." He wanted her eyes then, but she wouldn't given them to her. "At all. I would have never left you, for one, but if I had to, if I really had to, then I would have said goodbye. No matter how hard it was. I wouldn't tell you that I would be back and-"

"But I was coming back."

"Liar."

"Not then," she admitted, finally, and it was so soft in the loud bar, he almost missed it. Almost. "You're right. I wasn't going to see you again. But later-"

"But why? Huh? Why couldn't you just be honest with me. I've always been honest with you."

"I didn't...I didn't want to..."

Breakup.

The unspoken concept hung between them.

"But I did mean it. When I said it. I was going to come back eventually." She even rolled her eyes. "I had to. Or have to, I guess, since I haven't yet. But it's not easy outside of Magnolia, Locke."

"Because it's been so easy in it."

"I'm sorry."

She'd never said that to him, not over something so serious before and he deflated some, eyes falling to his drink, and there was no way that things were all better between them, they might never be again, but he had no rebuttal then. Just silence.

Then,

"I love you, Haven."

"I know." She even nodded. "I love you too."

He spit, down on the ground, and he felt a bit like his father, but he couldn't help it.

"Fuck that. And fuck you." He was angry again, glaring even, as he said, "Who was that then? Huh? That you were with? Who were any of those guys? Are you in some kind of guild? Or-"

"Guilds are dumb," she reminded him as her gaze was just as heavy back. "We're just a group of like-minded people-"

"Holy fuck, Haven, you joined a cult?"

"No, stupid." She looked about ready to slug him then. Finally. They were getting back to themselves. "They're treasure hunters. I… I owe them. For helping me out with something. So I've been going around with them, these past few months, and-"

"And you're sleeping with them."

"Locke-"

"At least that one." He wasn't letting up. "I could tell. You guys weren't very coy about it."

"It's not like that."

"Then what is it like?"

"It's not like us. I'm not...in a relationship with someone." She sounded grossed out at the thought. "We're just all people with a common goal."

"To treasure hunt?"

"To get jewels. And power." That, after all, had always been her goal. "Locke, it's not all guilds and wizards and… There's so much more out there. Out here. In Fiore. I've been out of it, even. Fiore. I went to Bosco. Have you ever been?"

"I don't make a habit of visiting slave traders, no."

But Haven just shook her head.

"I went to Veronica. I saw it, Locke. All of it. And what have you done? Since I've been gone? Stuck around the same lame areas of Fiore, doing noth-"

"You have no idea," he cut her off, "what I've been doing since you've been gone."

"Then tell me, Locke. What have you done?" She even shrugged. "That's even close to any of that?"

But he only glared. "You think that you're so great, Haven, for leaving and running off, but-"

"I'm great for doing what I want," she told him. "You want Fairy Tail. Magnolia. Fine. Then you're great for doing what you want. Why does one of us have to be wrong?"

"Because one of us left the other."

"I already apologized. I'm not doing it again."

"That wasn't an apology, Haven," he retorted. "That was words. You're not sorry. Sorry would have been a letter. Sorry would have been getting on a lacrima. Sorry would have been coming back to talk to me, at least once, meet with me, somewhere, to talk-"

"That's remorse." She reached for her drink again. "I'm sorry that it happened and that it hurt you. I don't feel bad about doing."

"Damn it, Haven-"

"Maybe this is why I didn't do it, Locke," she said then. "Why I didn't come back and talk to you. Or write you. Or say anything. Because no matter what I said, no matter what I did, short of staying there, miserable with you, you were never going to be fine with it. Happy with it. Everyone calls me selfish, but you-"

"You can't be serious."

But she was. She was always serious.

They sat there then, her taking to looking around again as he finally slung back his beer in a single gulp. Then he was calling over to a passing waitress for another.

"I said I'd buy you _a_ drink," she pointed out, getting the older man to snort.

"A lot more jobs to go around now, at the hall," he said. "Without you hogging them all."

"You're welcome, then."

"Why did you take me here? Make me come with you? If you're just going to be like this?"

"I'm not being like anything."

"You are. You-"

"What do you want, Locke? For me to throw myself at you and beg for your forgiveness?"

"It'd be nice."

She gave him a look then and he let out a breath and they were just them, as they always had been. Time had passed, yet there they were, just the same, as they always would be. Locke and Haven.

"Have you at least been okay? Haven? While you've been gone? You never write anyone and, really, it's been months since your parents even heard from you. What have you been doing?"

"That's when I joined up." Her eyes fell once more, to the table. "With the guys. The treasure hunters. They saved my ass, when I was in some pretty bad shape, and… Do you really want to talk about this?"

"Do you not?" He made a face. "You really have changed then. Not wanting to go on and on about yourself-"

"There's a lot of better things I've done. To talk about." She felt it then, the upper hand being delivered once more. As his second beer (with her, at least) was brought to the table, the blonde lifted her head higher. "If you're done being a sniveling little bitch-"

"Keep going," he retorted as he drug his mug closer. "A bit more I won't remember I missed you at all."

Good.

It was about then though that Navi, finally, located her mother. The woman was all ready too, for them to have some alone, quality time together. But Navi seemed far too stoked just for that.

"What's up?" her mother asked with a slight grin. "Navi?"

"Haven's back."

"What?"

"Well, not back, but here, in Crocus, and Locke's gone off to find her and we should tell the Master, don't you think?"

Well, someone should, maybe, but Lucy definitely didn't want it to have to be her. She wasn't quite certain of the girl's standing with her parents at the moment. It was, after all, frequently on the outs. Even before she made a big stink and exited the family guild.

They went back to the inn, instead, to find Marin. She and Navi were sharing a room, but when she was nowhere to be found, they first went to Kai, who seemed rather happy to inform them the girl was in with Erza.

"Getting last minute training," he said with a bright grin. "If you know what I mean."

Uh, no, they certainly didn't, and were a bit shocked when, upon entering the swordswoman's room, they were informed just who was going to be fighting in the older teen category.

"Marin, are you sure?" Navi was slowly losing some of her excitement. It would make her look like a pretty big weeny, after all, if innocent little Marin kicked butt in the tournament while she...had a meeting with the Queen. Shit. Oh yeah. Haven had only been injected back in her life and, already, she was forgetting all about her own life. Ouch. "This tournament is pretty serious."

"W-Well," the younger girl began as she sat there, on the end of Erza's bed, a book of spells in her hands, "if it has to be Kai or me-"

"She," Erza assured from where she stood nearby, "is sure."

Lucy raised her eyebrows, but just as quickly shook her head. "There's something else going on. Uh, Marin, your sister is-"

"Haven's in Crocus." Navi bounced a bit as Erza and Marin blinked in turn. When she didn't see either jump for joy quite like she had, the pink haired girl frowned. "Aren't you excited?"

"As much as I am about most things, I suppose," Erza offered with a slight shrug. "I will be pleased to see growth, if she exhibits it. If not, then I will be displeased until I do."

"Is she...okay?" Marin rose then, setting the tome behind her on the bed. "Was she alone? Or-"

"No, she's with some boys. Men, really, I guess." Navi couldn't help it. She giggled some. Then she noticed the look this got from her mother and straightened immediately, "Well, I mean, I think they're just her guild or-"

"Good for her." Erza nodded. "However, right now, Marin must prepare for her battle. After a bit more studying, she will go to bed early and rise before sunup, to go on a run with me."

"I will?" Marin bowed her head at the idea. "I will."

"You can still go see your sister, if you want though," Lucy told her with a bit of a frown at Erza. The woman was putting a lot of weight, for some reason, on the tournament. First on Kai and now, in his place, the young slayer. She wasn't sure what the woman was jockeying for, but as someone who'd seen what forcing a child to do something they disliked could do, she couldn't say she was supportive. "Marin. I mean, I don't know where she is right now, but Locke is off to find her-"

"I don't think I wanna see her. Or, well, I can, later, but right now…" With a deep breath, Marin looked confident as she said, "I just want to prepare for my match."

It was hard not to respect that. And though they were both uncertain of her luck in this venture, both Dragneel women wished the girl well.

"Do you think you could tell your parents? At least?" Lucy asked before they left. "Please?"

"W-Well, actually, they're already pretty upset about the whole tournament thing and I think they're already in bed, anyways, because they seemed to-"

"The morning then." Erza really just wanted all the distractions out of the room. "Marin. Over breakfast. If not you, I will inform them, yes? Now out you go. Marin must continue her tournament preparations."

Outside the room then, Navi looked to her mother for answers, but the woman only shrugged.

"We told a Dreyar, at least," she offered up. "We did our part. And come on, what's the big deal? It's just Haven. So she's hanging around. It's not like she has some sort of vendetta against us. Right? Navi? You would know. Does she?"

"Why do you sound so nervous?"

Lucy had long made it a goal of hers, to never get on the wrong side of Laxus; she felt a fully grown Haven was someone to also avoid.

"Let's get back to what we were going to do." Her mother grinned as, once more, they stepped out into the lively city. Just the smell of it was so much different than Magnolia. They both felt lighter breathing it. "Forget Haven. Forget the tournament. We're here, Navi, because you're going to meet the Queen. Did you forget?"

Not for long, anyways.

But as Navi and her mother spent the night avoiding the men in their lives (somehow, being with her daughter when this happened was even better, Lucy found), Haven's was filled with falling right back in with hers. Or at least one. The most important one.

They drank until they argued and then they drank some more until they made up. While they were in the middle of tipping back over to the other side, Haven leaned over the table and asked, "Don't you wanna get out of here?"

He blinked, dumbly, before asking, "I thought you had a boyfriend."

"'_I thought you had a boyfriend_,'" she mocked in a fake pitch and yeah, fuck it, he wanted to get out of there. "I told you, it's not like that, anyways."

Had she? He had no memory of it. Everything was just going so fast, moving so fast, and Haven didn't hold his hand or wrist this time, when she led him through the streets, but he followed diligently all the same, grumbling softly over how, somehow, he'd ended up footing both their tabs.

"You're the one talking about raking in all those jewels."

"I ain't the treasure hunter."

"Neither," she retorted, "am I."

But was she?

Locke stumbled into one of the twin beds in the tiny hotel room the second they were in it, staring expectantly in the darkness at Haven to join him. But she only stood there for a long moment, as if thinking.

"Are you okay?" she asked and he thought she was asking about his drinking to which he only snorted.

"Fine."

"Good." And she turned. "I'll be back."

"Where are you going?"

"I have to go speak with- It doesn't matter. Just stay."

"Why do you have to talk to someone?" He was shoving up then, but just to sit up, glaring over at her. "Haven-"

"Do you wanna ruin this, Locke?"

"No, but-"

"Then shut up." In the moonlight he caught, the glint in her eyes. "Idiot."

He was drunk, but not dumb, and Haven was up to something. He wasn't vain enough to think it had anything to do with him (she'd obviously been shocked to find him), but he definitely wanted to get to the bottom of it because there was no way that she was going to tell him about whatever it was. No. They'd spoken for hours by that point, about most of the things that had gone on, but she was clearly avoiding the topic of what she was doing, paling around with treasure hunters. Part of him thought she just didn't want to discuss all that had gone on with her and Mr. Easygoing, but a bigger part of him knew it had to be more than that.

With Haven, it was always more than that.

Tumbling back out of bed, he turned on a light finally before looking at where she left her pack, down on the floor. He felt a bit like an ass as he fell to the floor, to just peak in, there, just a quick peak, because this was a major violation, and they weren't even close friends anymore, really, and he was going to get caught and they'd fight, but he was drunk, way drunk, he could admit, now that she wasn't the one asking, and that was why it didn't make sense at first, the different maps of the palace he found in there. Some were more crude than others and there were a bunch. A whole bunch.

"What is she doin' with these?" he muttered to himself as he glanced through them. He couldn't say for certain, but he kind of doubted the royal family okayed prints of the ins and outs of the entire place. "What do they want with the palace?"

But Haven hadn't gone far. She and the men she was traveling with were staying in the same inn and she'd only gone a few doors down, apparently, because she was coming, he could sense her, Locke could, and shit, he just stuffed the papers back in and, jumping to his feet, probably looked quite suspicious, but Haven didn't seem to care anymore. It didn't seem to have gone well, her conversation with whoever she was talking to, and she only shut the hotel room door behind her.

"Were you leaving?" she asked to which he shook his head slowly and she only nodded, turning the light back off again. "Good."

As she approached, he finally figured it was a good time to, well, he was moving to pull off his jacket, but it was tricky because he'd had too much to drink and Haven laughed at him, laughed, and he hadn't heard her do that in so long and then…

"You didn't wait for me?" she asked, bemused it seemed, as she found it there, where it'd been, since he'd wrapped the chain around his wrist, over a year ago. "Did you, Locke?"

"I'll always wait for you."

She shoved him then, away, as he was finally out of his jacket, while saying, "You're so lame. Pathetic."

"I'm joking."

"You better be."

And she meant it.

It was weird. He'd been so wired, when he arrived in Crocus, because his father had snickered to him something about the women in the capital and Locke had kind of exhausted things, a bit, in Magnolia for the time being and it was just gonna be cool, to be somewhere he'd probably not be back to for a very long time to meet someone who was probably also in the capital for a short period and it'd just be...thrilling. He didn't think like that, out on jobs, which was where most of his travel came from, but he was really planning on drinking and having a good time and he'd done one of those, maybe two of those, but right back with the main person, the same person.

Haven.

"You didn't ask me," he muttered softly as she sat there, in his lap, where she always was, where she belonged, "if I had a girlfriend. Right now."

"I don't care." She stared him right in the eyes as she said it, on hand tracing over a new scar he had, along his jawline, while the other ran softly over his shaven head. "What you do. Locke. Let's just be here right now."

That wasn't good with him though and it never would be and she knew that, how did she not know that? But he was just so wired and when it was over and he was lying there beside her, he thought of all these things he wanted to tell her. Before. The beer and the shock had clouded it all and she was here now, in bed with him, again, but they weren't sneaking around in his parents house or splurging after a job. They weren't kids that shouldn't be doing this.

They were adults who were allowed to do whatever the fuck they wanted.

So why was he so scared to say what he wanted?

"I hope," she whispered softly, eventually, "that I get an afternoon slot. In the tournament."

"Are your friends in it?"

"They're not my friends." Still, she answered, "No. They're not here for that. I told you, we're just like-minded people. We're in the capital for...something else. And I wanted to participate."

He took a breath and held it for a moment before whispering into the darkness, "What are you here for?"

She reached over then, to shove at his head, and as she pushed up to stare down at him, because she always needed to be that, over him, more important than him, the blonde told him, "That's treasure hunter information only."

"I thought you weren't one?" he muttered through a heavy gaze, but that only got him a glare and she was rolling out bed then, to go shower off or something, while he just laid there.

He felt like he'd won their unspoken battle that day, the first since she'd thoroughly bested him a year prior, but for some reason, he only felt sickly, and he wouldn't drink again, he vowed. Never ever.

Bickslow didn't feel that way though as he sat around at a bar with Elfman and Freed. The boss and Natsu were family men, so they didn't tag along, couldn't close bars anymore, but Bickslow, well, he had a family, but it was just different, yeah?

Plus, he offered to stick around til the wee hours of the morning, when all the bars began to close, not because he had a drinking problem, no, but because he wanted to still be staggering around the city when the match ups were posted.

"We'll get a one up," he assured Lisanna who only rolled her eyes, "on the competition."

And, well, he didn't exactly know what the fuck most of the names on the list were, obviously, not even the ones facing the boys, but that's not what caught his attention. No. For one, it was that in place of Kai's name, he found his youngest niece's there, who he'd yet to hear the news about. Marin's was there though, quite plainly, and he even made Freed, who was the most sober, double check that it wasn't some kind of drunken haze, the opponent he was reading across from hers.

"Aye, boss!" He was causing quite the ruckus, so early, and though Freed begged him to keep his voice down, Bickslow couldn't. "Boss-"

"What," Laxus growled as he opened the door, eventually, in nothing but his skivvies, "is your problem? You morons are going to get us kicked out of-"

"Haven's here," Freed whispered softly from Bickslow's side and Mirajane was coming up behind the slayer then.

"What?" she whispered, but Bickslow just shook his head as his babies hummed solemnly around it.

"And," the seith informed them, "she's Marin's opponent in the tournament."


	4. Chapter 4

His head was pounding and he didn't want to get up, when Haven shoved at him, but still, Redfox peeked an eye open. Just a sliver.

"I," Haven told him, "have to go and check, you know? My ranking or whatever?"

"So," was what he muttered against the pillow, but it wasn't a question. Just a flat tone.

"You're the one that throws fits when I leave without saying anything."

"You're annoying."

"Stay if you want. I'll be back later tonight. After I kick ass in the tournament." He got shoved again and, that time, there was a bit of electricity behind it. "What'd you even come to Crocus for? To sleep all day?"

Holy shit. Navi.

He wanted to shove up and bark at Haven some and then rush off to find the pink haired girl, but man, he couldn't do shit. He was too hungover. Haven's shock did something to keep him awake though and, as he only laid there miserably, he really wished he'd never gone looking for the blonde in the first place.

When he finally did shove up, it was with a hand to his head and curses on his tongue as it took everything in him not to fall back down. No. He had things he had to do. Navi was probably still stressing about her meeting and he'd promised to hang out with her, that day, before this happened. Then the boys were all in their matches and Kai was going to need someone there to make sure he didn't run away screaming before arriving at the arena.

Haven was… At the very least, Haven was going to be around for a few days, because of the dumb tournament and now they'd reached out to one another (more than reached, really) and that meant…

"Haven's going to fucking rob the palace."

This hit him as his foot hit the bag on the floor as he stumbled off to shower and shit, he almost forgot about all that. Before, his brain was too muddled to piece it together, but he got it then, as he staggered off.

Well, he got what he could of it.

He was with Haven for, like, half a day and already he was being drug down into her dirty deeds. For someone that always spoke of an honor code, he found hers to be severely lacking.

Locke would admit, he would be the first person to not exactly understand all the ins and outs of treasure hunting, but he was nearly certain, what Haven was thinking about doing (what he assumed her to be thinking about doing) was more straight up theft than anything else. Weren't treasure hunters supposed to, like, find lost stuff? Not definitely owned and kept safe by the royal family.

He had to stop her. Whatever it was, he had to put an end to it. Because Navi was going to go to the palace and, yeah, Haven wasn't with Fairy Tail anymore, but Haven was still Master Laxus' daughter and if she fucked something up for Navi, for all of them, really, then…

"She's going to kill Marin."

"Why are you saying that?" Mirajane asked as she and her husband got ready that morning. It wouldn't be until late afternoon that the older half of the tournament participated, but they had the twins and Ajax, at the moment, to go support. "Laxus? Haven's… Why is everyone so convinced that this is a bad thing?"

"Have you forgotten who Haven is, Mira?"

"Has been over a year since you sent her away, so-"

"Mirajane-"

"Marin is the one that wants to do this, Laxus. And now that she knows it's her sister that she's facing, if she wants to back out, she can. Who's forcing her? I'm not. You're not."

"Erza-"

"Since when does she have more control over our daughter than we do?"

Since she started paying more attention to her than either ever had.

At the moment, the girl was seated with Kai and the swordswoman at a restaurant, picking at her food while Kai looked on in concern...and ate his with little care.

"You don't have to do it, Marin," he said as Erza stayed silent for once. "If you're scared."

"I'm not scared." But she whispered this, more, to her toast than anyone else. "I just..."

The night before she was. Of the unknown. As she fell into bed, it was with concerns over just who she'd see standing before her, in the arena, the next day. Now though, the next day was here and she found out it was going to be her sister, the older sister that had basically threatened her, the last time they truly spoke, that she was going to kick her ass then next time they met and that was when Haven was being nice. Nice.

Who knew what Haven was anymore?

Everyone hoped for growth and a better demeanor, but whose to say that it was Fairy Tail, all those years, making her a colossal bitch? What if Haven, even removed from all the things she claimed were life stressers, was still a super horrible person? Or what if she was even worse?

What if Haven hadn't been in contact recently was because she was, like, some sort of super evil person now and was working with a dark guild and had come to the tournament only after hearing Marin had entered and was hellbent on destroying her because...because…

"Take a breath," Erza instructed as Marin felt Kai patting at her shoulder. It was with a deep sigh that the woman conceded solemnly, "If it is going to cause you so much inner turmoil, Marin, then you may concede to your sister. I expected you to be facing a normal opponent. There is no shame admitting you are ill prepared for your fate."

"Then how come there was when I did?" Kai asked with a glare over at the woman. "Huh?"

"You did not run from your opponent," Erza answered with one of her own. "You ran from the concept of battle. There is a difference."

"I couldn't have faced Haven." Or anyone. Looking back to Marin, he said, "She'dda killed me too."

"I bet they saw our last names and did this on purpose. No one said it was random. If it was you, it'd have been someone totally different." She couldn't look up at either of them. "And it's okay, Kai. I don't blame you. Or you, Erza."

"Well, there's nothing to blame, because you're going to drop, aren't ya? Marin? You can just drop." Kai frowned at her resolve though Erza only felt herself begin to grin. "Marin, just drop. Come on-"

"Haven's my sister, fine, but we're not guild mates anymore. If I give in, then it's like she wins."

"Well, yeah, that's how forfeiting works, Marin."

She just shook her head at him. "It's like she wins against us. Against Fairy Tail. Like I...like I'm scared of her."

"I'm scared for you of her. Really. You-"

"Aren't you the one that always says I'm super strong?"

"You are." And he meant it. Dropping his fork, he faced her fully then. "But Marin… No one's talked to Haven in a long while. And the last time someone did was, what? Your mother got a dumb letter just telling us she was alive? No one knows what she's been doing this whole time or who she is or-"

"Then it's like facing any other random opponent."

"Marin-"

"W-Well, I told Haven to go, when she wanted to leave, because it was better for her," the youngest of the Dreyar girls said then. "But that doesn't mean that she's better than us. There's nothing better than Fairy Tail."

Kai's eyes were still on hers, but Marin could only feel the scarlet woman's as she raised her own to find them staring right at her. With a bit of a nod, Erza excused herself from the table and left the pair to their own devices.

"If you wish to spend the morning watching the younger kids compete," was all she told them, "so be it. But if you wish for any training help, Marin, before your match, come to me."

He waited, Kai did, for the woman to leave before insisting to Marin, "You don't gotta do stuff just 'cause Erza tells you to, you know. I don't. And no one likes Erza as much as me."

"That's not why I'm doing it."

"Then why are you?"

But her eyes fell once more to her food and she had no answers.

Though Dreyar drama had once ruled the roost, the others had more important things to worry about that day. Navi and her mother were going to watch the boys compete before hurrying off to find something suitable to wear for their meeting later that day.

"Hopefully we'll be around," Navi offered to Marin before she left the inn room that morning, "for your match. If...if you go through with it."

She'd been the first to try and convince her to not. Following that, she was dumped on not just by Kai and Erza, but also her parents and aunts and uncles and she had to wonder, really, if Haven wasn't right, the year before, to leave. If everyone apparently thought so lowly of her, then maybe Fairy Tail wasn't the place for her.

"Where have you been?" was what Navi asked when Locke found her, eating breakfast in a restaurant near the inn they'd all supposed to stay in. "Locke?"

But she was grinning at him and he only glared as he fell into a seat at the large table with the Dragneel family.

"You know," he grumbled to her, "where I've been."

Lucy raised her eyebrows at Natsu who didn't quite understand why.

So he said instead, "Well, I don't. Hey, Locke, did you hear that Haven's back?"

Happy snickered so much that almost choked on his fish.

"Did she tell you then?" Navi hardly gave Locke time to flag down a waitress before she was hounding in on him and, ugh, his head hurt too much for this. "About-"

"All the dumb stuff she's been doing? Yeah. She-"

"Marin's her opponent in the tournament."

He blinked. Then frowned.

"What do you mean?" Snorting, he said, "Why would Marin be in the-"

"Because Kai's a coward."

Well, it made sense.

"She can't," he complained, "fight her sister."

"I know. She's going to kill her."

"Not Marin. I mean, yeah, Marin can't, but Haven can't fight Marin either. She… She just shouldn't and she knows it." He was huffing then and he should have stayed home. In Magnolia. Instead of getting dragged into all of this. "Why is Marin even fighting?"

Navi could only shrug though before she got down to the one thing that could really distract her from her impending meeting.

"Did you meet those guys Haven was with? Her guild? Were they… Is Haven… Do you think-"

"They're not a guild."

As if that's what she wanted to know about.

Still, Navi remarked, "They have to be. Or does she have another one? I thought to be in the tournament, you needed-"

"You just have to declare," Lucy told the two of them though, at the moment, she was a bit distracted with the fact she seemed to be the only one watching the clock and concerned about getting the boys to the arena on time. "If you have a guild, you need to have your master present and you have to declare your alliance. I guess so guild mates don't fight one another. This though, seems like an oversight-"

"Why?" Natsu even shrugged. "Havens' not a part of us anymore."

"Yeah, but I'm sure that's done so there's no throwing of matches," his wife insisted. "Marin and Haven are related. Who wouldn't think one of them might not throw that match?"

"If you got a family guild and you ain't a part of it, there's no way you're throwing a match when you get to go up against it." Natsu threw a fist up in the air in his excitement, much to the joy of his boys. "You'll destroy them. Best fight on the card."

"You're supposed to be rooting for Marin, by the way," his wife reminded as he could only shrug.

"I root for fighting," he told her simply.

"Aye," Happy agreed though he did add, "but I definitely wouldn't wanna go up against Haven."

"You're hyping her up for nothing." Locke, with a shake of his head, shut his eyes then and the headache he was nursing wasn't going anywhere any time soon. "She's not going to just lay over for Marin, but there's no way that the two of them are going all out."

The others didn't have much more time to consider that though. Navi was the only one that didn't have to leave then, though she did wish both of her brothers luck and assured them she'd be there, rooting for them. Locke offered the best, sage battle advice he could manage around a throbbing head and heart, but they both seemed pretty content with themselves. Confident.

"They'll have fun, at least," Navi insisted once they were gone because, well, yeah. Just as quickly though, she was getting right back into it. "So did you? Meet them? If they're not a guild, then who are those guys?"

Ugh.

"Treasure hunters." He only opened his eyes when his food was set before him, but even then, didn't seem to keen on the topic they were discussing. "She's working with treasure hunters. To pay off a debt."

"Oh wow." Navi even hummed. "But did you meet them?"

"Navi-"

"I was just wondering."

"Shouldn't you be worried about your meeting with the Queen?"

And that brought her right back down to the ground.

"Thanks, Locke." She rolled her eyes and her tone lost some of it's joy. "I was trying to put it out of my mind, but-"

"Just keep your guard up, okay?"

"What do you mean?"

But he wouldn't elaborate and she could feel it then. Haven had been back half a second and already the pair of them were keeping secrets from her. Once the third wheel…

There was a battle arena constructed somewhat outside the city where the tournament, as well as a few others, was held each year. It was more than a bit packed and Navi worried about not being able to find the others, but she did locate where the Strauss siblings were sitting and fell easily in with them.

"Are you excited?" she asked Ajax, but he could only nod, as he sat ridged in his seat, staring down at the battle field before them. A sandpit. He wondered if that would come into play? Should he be worried about it? What if the person he faced used, like, sand or something as their magic? How do you prepare for something like that.

"He's focused," Lisanna offered because the boy hadn't spoken in a good hour for the first time in his entire life and it was more than freaking everyone out.

Locke felt most the same as he sat with the family as well, tuning out Ever and Elfman's argument over...whatever as well as Bickslow and Lisanna trying, unsuccessfully, many times, to get their son to snap out of his trance. Freed, Mirajane, and Laxus showed up eventually, but they seemed to be in the same downtrodden mood as Locke.

Everyone's fun adventure in the capital was turning out to blow.

But not for the Dragneel twins. This was their shining moment. And when Lucky's number was called, he was ready to deliver.

"A girl?" He couldn't help it. He was super disappointed when he found himself standing across from one in the sandpit. "This sucks."

She only stood there, right across from him, dark hair blowing a bit in the wind and as the ref stood between them, yelling out both kid's name and guild association, Lucky just wanted to go home. Stupid tournament. Now he had to fight a stupid girl and that wasn't fair and the whole thing was dumb.

But then the ref was dropping his hands and rushing away and he could hear them, everyone, cheering and yelling and the crowd wasn't anywhere near what it would be later in the day, when the older kids fought, but Lucky thought it was pretty big. It felt pretty big.

And now the pretty big crowd was going to see him fight a girl.

Gross.

"What kind of stupid magic do you even use?" he called over, but his arms were crossed and it was so annoying. All of it. Girls. The only girls that were any good at magic were his sister and Erza, fine, but she wasn't really a girl; she was something else entirely. All other girls sucked pretty damn hard. "Huh?"

She grinned at him and she looked almost older than him, just on the cusp of aging up and as she called out, she was advancing.

"Taker," she growled at him and then she was there, right before him, "magic."

"Maker?" he repeated now even more annoyed because not only was she was a girl, but she was totally stealing his already stolen gimmick too.

"Taker!"

When she was close enough, he threw a wild punch, but it connected with nothing other than the air. At first. Because her hands were lightning fast and they grabbed his arm as it flew passed, her grip tightening as Lucky only tried to shove her off.

"Hey, what are you doing? Get off me!"

Her eyes rolled back, just for a moment, and her irises were gone. He was kind of panicking then, because he was expected an all out brawl, if not just an easy victory, but she was doing something to him. But what? In those mere seconds, he thought of everything from poison to some sort of vice death grip and she'd physically rip his arm in two, but just like that, she was releasing him and jumping back, away from him, a grin on her face as her irises fell back into place.

"That's it?" He glanced down at his arm before over at her with a glare. Dumb girl. Spitting down into the dirt, he moved to smash his fists into one another. "Light make flying discs!"

They jumped from his hands, five, flat, glowing yellow discs, zooming across the space the girl had put between them then. But she only mimicked his hand movements as she yelled out a spell of her own.

"Light make wall!"

And a barrier was thrown up before her then, which his discs crashed right into, shattering. As he only blinked, her wall faded and she was standing there, grinning brightly at him.

"So you are a maker mage," he complained, but she only repeated herself again.

"Taker. I took your magic, stupid." She was still all smiles though. "And I really like it. Are there any limits?"

Before he could think of something to say though, she was slamming her fist against her open palm and he had to hurry, too, to think of something, anything, to make and try and take her down with it, but it was useless because she was just making things to counter them and it was a game, to the girl, it seemed, but a frustration to the boy.

Eventually, she grew bored of countering it seemed and instead yelled out, "Light make cannon!"

And there was one. For her. So easily.

He'd tried it before, to make weapons, but the magic power and concentration for that were just too much and she fired a huge orb of light energy at him and he tried to toss up a wall, like she had, but his wall didn't offer near the same resistance and as it crumbled, he was hit in the stomach with his own magic and it hurt.

It really hurt.

As he blinked up at the clear sky, he couldn't move. Not even as the ref counted him out. He lost.

When he finally was able to shove up, it was to rush off and go find his dad tell him about how he wanted to learn a different magic, a better magic, because maker magic was stupid! If you couldn't even beat a dumb girl.

"You win some, you lose some," Bickslow offered from the stands as Navi felt a bad, kind of, for her little brother. "Except for you, eh, Ajax? Let's go for a perfect sweep! From our end. Straight through the tournament!"

Still, Ajax remained silent.

They had to sit through a few more matches before Iggy's came around. He was far more nervous than his brother had been (especially after seeing his twin bested) and only nervously gripped his single key in his hand, watching the boy before him. They were about the same age and the other kid looked overjoyed, really, just to be standing there, and he bounced on his feet as the ref said the ground rules and nodded at both fighters, announcing their guilds and names.

Then it was go time.

"You're a celestial mage," the other boy called over to him, from across the dirt pit. "Huh?"

Iggy could only nod. He was too nervous to speak.

"Well, my spells are a bit different, I guess." And he laughed as he held out his hands then, the other boy did, which glowed with a soft purple glow to them. "How much do you like silence?"

He heard it, as the boy was yelling out his spell, but after that…

The crowd had been so overpowering and he could place them, before, where his mother and father were, because they were yelling things at him and he could still see them then, but he couldn't hear them. He couldn't hear anything. Not even the boy before him whose lips were moving, but wordlessly.

He yelled then, Iggy did, but no sound came out and he had to summon his spirit then. No sound came out, but he yelled it regardless, at the top of his lungs, as he jerked his key through the air and hoped it would yield the result he wanted.

Hak needed no words though, the second she was there. Their communication had always been nonverbal and she somehow knew exactly what to do. As the other boy approached then, his mouth was still moving and purple magic was still jumping from his finger tips and Iggy clearly was uncomfortable.

Hak knew exactly how to fix that!

It was an earsplitting scream that the other boy gave out when, the second he was close enough, Hak just reared her head back before slamming it forwards, into the ground, right over the boy's foot. Her pointy nose skewered his foot and as the child howled in pain, she didn't redraw it. She couldn't. She was stuck, suspended above the air, rigid.

"Hak!" He could hear himself then, Iggy could, because the other boy, in quite a bit of pain, lost the concentration to continue on with his spell. "You gotta let him up!"

"I forfeit, I forfeit! Just let me up," the other boy was begging, crying, as Iggy tried in vain to pull Hak out of the ground, but she seemed stuck.

"Close," he finally heard his mother yell from somewhere in the stands, above the murmurs of the concerned crowd, "the gate, Ig!"

Oh yeah.

As the spirit dissipated, Iggy did call out a thanks to her, but just as quickly, he was being drug back by a ref as a he called the game.

It didn't feel too good though, as his hand was held up and he got cheered for. Iggy kept glancing over at where the boy was, still on the ground, sobbing as a medic looked over his skewered foot.

"You won!" His father was pumped though, as he tossed him up into the air in excitement when he and his mother met him outside of the ring. They'd rushed right over, his pouting brother in tow, but Iggy couldn't match their excitement.

"Do you think he'll be okay?" he asked as Happy caught him in the air, from Natsu's huge toss (this got him griped at by his wife, but he was too fired up to care), and flew him back down with a snicker. "The boy I fought?"

"Any means necessary," his father assured him as his mother just nodded a bit.

"You move on, anyways," she said with a smile. "To the next round. Aren't you excited?"

Sort of. Then he saw his twin, for the first time since his loss, and could help it.

"I mean, I didn't lose to a girl."

"Shut up!"

"You guys can hash it out later." Natsu ruffled his one son's similar locks. "Let's find your sister and celebrate."

She wasn't hard to find, as she was looking for them then too. After telling Lucky no one liked a sore loser, she was the one that began to assure Iggy that the other boy would be fine.

"You might even see him around again. Maybe. And if you do, you can tell him good job," she suggested and this seemed to ease his concerns.

"Hak's pretty great," he told the others.

"It...was an interesting victory," Lucy offered as she knew she'd have nightmares, from then on, of Plue taking his revenge and skewering her own foot in the middle of the night. "To say the least."

"Say more!" Happy was much like Natsu; all fired up! "About it all, Iggy!"

As they sat together then, their family, to watch Ajax eventually have his shot at moving up, Lucky had to admit that, yeah, it sucked, losing and all, but he was happy for his twin. Kind of. Jealous, a bit, but his father had only assured him when he whined to him, right after his match, that it was okay.

"You think I didn't get my ass handed to me sometimes?" he asked and their mother had a big cursing rule, but she'd yet to make it over to them yet and it was just him and his father. Tapping him on the head, Natsu said, "You can't give up on your magic every single time you don't win a battle, buddy. You have to have faith in it. If you don't, then it will always fail you. No matter what it is."

Locke ditched out, when Navi did, on his...whatever the fuck Haven was, family, instead venturing out to find the girl himself. None of them mentioned her name in front of him and he could tell they were all tense over more than just Ajax's first taste of real battle, but he felt conflicted then and by not saying anything, they were making the situation much more awkward.

So he dipped.

He found Marin and Kai on accident, with Erza, as they were returning to the stands after going to get snacks, it looked like, between the twins matches and Ajax. He nodded at them and Kai seemed like he wanted Locke to come over, but he couldn't. He had something more important to do.

"Haven."

"I thought I told you I was busy until tonight?"

She groaned, too, as she spoke, but he was able to hold down his own as he found her outside of the stadium. Not alone. With her...treasure hunters.

"Locke." It wasn't her that spoke his name, but rather Mr. Easygoing and he had a smirk going as the other man approached. Haven shot him a look, but it had nothing on the one Locke was giving him. "That's your name, right?"

"Bla-ack. Ste-el. Ga-jeel." That was the tall one, still flipping a coin, but his eyes were on Locke that time and it made his blood boil, the way the other man separated out his father's name. "Your legacy precedes you. Your father's at least. Haven's told us so much about all of you. So much."

"She's a bit invaluable, ain't ya, Haven?" Mr. Easygoing was knocking his elbow then, against the blonde, but her eyes were back on Locke's and he only glanced at her. "Lot's of information and stories, this one. Haven. Say, Locke, how come ya ain't in the tournament? Not much to fight for these days?"

"Shut up." She found her voice then, finally, again, and Haven was shoving Easygoing's arm away, when he tried to toss it over her shoulders. "And Locke, I really can't hang out right now. We can later. I told you, I have things to-"

"What's the rush?" He laughed, the one, the main one, and Locke wanted to slug him so fucking badly. "Haven? You can go watch your little match and we'll keep your friend company. Me and Locke here, I can already tell. We have lots of things in common. Don't we?"

He didn't like it, Locke didn't. The way Haven almost seemed...under the control of the other guy. It was the only way he could put it. She wasn't barking back at him, the way she always had literally everyone else in her life, and he knew that something had to be massively wrong for that to be right, and-

"I knew someone like you." The wiry one bounced some, on his feet, and rubbed his hands together as he took a step towards Locke. The other man refused to take one back. "That looked like you. Exactly like you. When I was a boy. Not you, of course, but someone like you and I fucked...we fucked...fucked..fucked up the sentence, but I fucked him. Up. Fucked him up. That's it. That's the one. I fucked him up, real bad once, because this habit, this...this habit of...of… My words don't come to me, too easy, but he had a habit of fucking with me because of that so I fucked him up real good, back in our village and you can't be him. Locke. Locke. Because he's not around no more. But damn, if you aren't a spitting image."

He glanced between the three of them, once, before back to Haven. "You're friends with some real winners."

"We're all winners, Locke. Everyone." Easygoing was a bit taller than him, standing, and when he moved to approach, it became more obvious. "Don't you think so? Haven?"

"Locke's coming with me. To watch my cousin." She still had a certainty in her voice, a confidence. She wasn't conferring with him, she was doing, but the ferocity was gone and Locke didn't appreciate its absence. "You guys should stick around. It probably won't take long."

"The son of Black Steel." The tall one let his coin fall completely that time, down onto the ground before his feet. "A real winner."

When Haven walked away, Locke did so to a slower extent, just watching the three of them, as if fearful of giving them his back. But then he was bleeding into the crowd and had to catch up with her, Haven, because if he didn't, she'd get away.

"I wish I' never run into you."

"Same," Locke offered as they climbed the stairs back to the stands. "I need to talk to you. Seriously. I-"

"Ajax is up next." She wouldn't even look at him as she stood there, glaring heavily down at the ring. "Shut up."

He'd been far from jovial when his family wished him luck and, as he took his place in the sandpit. The sun was out now and beating down, just a bit, but he only stared at the exact spot he'd seen Hak stick her...nose...beak...whatever into that other kid. He'd usually have been grossed out and interested and super into looking at the wound and, maybe, after his match he would try and find the kid, to see if he could show it to him, but at the moment, he had to concentrate.

He'd been concentrating.

"Real men," his uncle told him, "have on goal in mind and they accomplish it."

"Just," his other uncle grumbled because he was all distracted and stuff, 'cause of Haven, "don't lose."

"Remember," Freed added, "to always respect your opponent. During and after."

They were all right. Like always. His uncles were just the best.

So were his aunts. Mirajane gave him a kiss, that morning, over breakfast, and told him to try his hardest. And Aunt Evergreen was really upset that Haven was back and the whole Marin aspect, so she really didn't say much, but she did said if he went all the way, like really went all the way in the tournament, then she'd buy him something nice when they got back home. As a reward.

And Aunt Ever bought the best stuff.

His parents were even better though. Than the others. His mother reminded him that he was related to some of the strongest mages to ever live (well, not necessarily through blood, but Mirajane, at least) and that meant, if they were all pulling for him, there was no way he could lose.

"Your first real battle," his father reminded him, the last to speak to him, before he went down to wait his turn. "You win this, that makes ya a serious mage. Gonna have to start lookin' into gear, huh?"

Yeah.

There was no way he could lose.

The kid in front of him was closer to a teen and Ajax only kept his composer as they studied one another, across the pit, as the ref between them went through his whole rigmarole. When it was finally gone and it was time, He felt frozen as the older boy studied him with heavy, dark eyes.

There were no words spoken between them, only silence, as they both seemed to be waiting.

"What's he doing?" Locke complained, softly, to Haven as they waited with held breaths.

"The first," she told him simply, "to strike, is the first to lose."

If Freed taught her anything, then he repeated it relentlessly to the somehow even more reckless Ajax.

A mentality apparently held by the boy across from him, it seemed. But he was growing annoyed far faster than Ajax, who'd spent most the morning doing much the same, and finally, the older let out a loud, "Rah!" type of battle cry before he shot a bright blue blast of magic across the sandpit, aimed straight for Ajax. It was so large, in diameter, and quick that that there was no time to evade it- sideways.

He jumped, from a standstill, straight up into the air, clearing the beam easily and as he landed back on the ground, he couldn't help it. Ajax grinned.

This enraged the other guy who began shooting off smaller, quicker blasts of energy and it was difficult, maybe, for someone with less practice to bounced and tumble, cartwheeling to safely continually as the other boy, once more, let out a "Rah!" but it was no use.

He couldn't land a single blow.

It was a game that he played, with his father's dolls. They would fly around, shooting weak little green beams at him as he would evade. It used to be a lot less intense, when he was little, but as he grew, so did the game. If he got hit with one, he would lose, and Ajax hated losing.

Five floating dolls shooting at him was nothing compared to single stationary person. The only tricky part was making it not too obvious. The fact that he was slowly closing in on the other boy. He just had to get close enough and then-

There!

It was a lot, to shoot those off constantly, and when the older kid paused, just for a moment or two, Ajax ran straight for him. But as his opponent brought his hands back up then, to shoot at him again, Ajax jumped, green magic circles appearing beneath his feet, which he then slammed down, straight into the older kid's face.

"Alright!" Lucy couldn't help it. She jumped up, with a cheer, where she was with her family. And as Navi gave her a look, she only blushed some as she said, "I'm a big fan of good kick, is all."

The biggest.

Ajax hit the bigger, older boy square in the jaw and as he dropped, there was no count down. The boy was passed out and a ref was coming to drag Ajax away immediately, but he was rushing off anyways, to go stand in the center of the pit and jump around some because they were cheering for him. Fine, his job wasn't done and he was going to be in another match, the next morning, but in that moment, he was able to release all of the pent up things he was feeling and he felt like a hero.

An absolute hero.

But after his hand was raised and he was officially declared, he didn't run to where his father was going to meet him. No. Didn't run into the stands for where he'd seen his family waiting. Nope. Because Ajax saw her. He had. And he wasn't going to be letting her get away.

"Haven!" He crashed into her, when he saw her, because she was leaving, the stands, and going back out into the world and he couldn't let her go. Not after so long. "You came!"

"Ajax," she gripped a bit as he gripped her tightly because he if loosened it, even just a bit, she might disappear on him. "Calm down."

How could he? When she was finally there, again.

"They said," he whispered against her shirt as, slowly, she did move to pat him on the back, "that you're gonna fight Marin."

"I am."

"Well… I'll root for both of you, okay?"

Locke was with her, watching, but said nothing as she finally was released by the boy.

"Did you get your gift?" she asked and he nodded ecstatically just from the thought of it. "Good. And you did well out there. But don't feel too good; it's a long tournament."

"Will you come to dinner? Or the inn? Do you know where we're staying?" He could tell she was getting ready to leave again and he didn't want this to happen just yet. "Haven? You should. Come to dinner with us. And we can talk about it. Your match and mine. And-"

"I have to go."

"Haven-"

"Don't be such a baby, 'jax." She flicked him in the head and, reaching up to rub at it, the dark headed boy could only giggle. "And just root for Marin, huh? She's the one that's gonna need it."

"Go find your parents," was all Locke ordered as he followed after Haven. "I'm sure they want to see you."

He watched them go though, Ajax did, until they blended into the crowd and were gone.

Haven wasn't going back to where she'd left the others though. No. And as Locke followed, he didn't question.

They found themselves on the path into the city and, eventually, Locke kicked at the ground and figured, if he was going to put a stop to anything, now was the time.

"I don't like those guys, Haven."

"Shut up, Locke."

"Why are you...different? With them?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"What does he have over you?"

"What do you mean?"

It was hard to put into words, honestly, and he felt kind of stupid, even trying to, but only took a breath before saying, "You act like he has some kind of say in what you do. But he doesn't. Does he? Because you said that you're just a group of cultists-"

"Locke-"

"Like-minded," he grumbled, "people. So why are you forced to do what he wants?"

Haven wouldn't look at him, as they walked, but they fell into such good sync, their steps, regardless.

"I told you that it's different, Locke. Outside of Magnolia."

"But what does that mean?"

"It means that I...I owe him. Them. A debt."

He'd heard this before, but considered it for the first time, truly, as he asked, "So which is it? Do you owe them a debt? Or you've teamed up with them because you're so alike?"

"Why can't it be both?"

"Why can't you be honest with me?"

"What have I lied about?"

He huffed some, out of his nose, before saying, "You're going to breka into the palace, Haven."

She stopped walking so suddenly that the people behind them slammed into her and they got grumbled at, her and Locke, but just as quickly she was grabbing his arm and dragging him off, as quickly as possible, to somewhere away from the crowd.

"What the fuck, Locke? How do you know that? Were you...spying on me?"

"No," he grumbled as he rolled his shoulders, after she let him go. She'd tugged him into an alleyway. "I didn't."

"Then-"

"I might have seen the blueprints of the place that you-"

"You went through my shit? Seriously? Fuck you. Who do you think-"

"What are you doing, Haven? Huh? Because you're going to get yourself in trouble." She was giving him death stares, but still, he took a step forwards. "I'm not going to let you break inot the damn palace. Are you crazy?"

"You don't even know-"

"Because you won't tell me! Are these guys forcing you into this? Because-"

"You're so stupid."

"Then enlighten me." He'd never been able to command her before, but felt as if the power was in his hands then as he only glared. "Now."

He didn't think she would. That she'd storm off or some shit and then he'd have to seriously confront her, maybe physically, and then...then…

"I was in Bosco," she began slowly, softly, and it was kind of gross in the alleyway, but far more private, in that moment, then out on the open streets, "and ran into some trouble. With some slavers. And I…just got in some trouble."

She paused there and his breath was caught in his chest, but when he reached for her, she only turned her head.

"I'm okay. It was just a...misunderstanding. I stuck my nose where it didn't belong and it could have been bad, really bad, but I got away. And Evergreen gave me a list of names, to contact if I needed help with anything, and one of the guys she did was in that area. In Bosco."

"She's the one that knows these-"

"No." She was huffing, again, refusing to look at him. "It's complicated, but I was marked, basically, by the slavers I...offended."

"Haven-"

"It's not that big of a deal. I'm fine and don't want to talk about it right now."

"Well-"

"I had to get back into Fiore, but when you're marked, the normal borders are no help. Bosco won't let people who are marked cross the borders. But the only way to remove the mark was to get into Fiore. There's people here who will free you, if you can make it to them. So I had to figure out a way across. The man Ever knew over there, he set me up with some smugglers who could get me across. But they're not really smugglers. Just treasure hunters who have to smuggle what they have back across. They would take me, if I was useful to them. I've almost finished it, now, what I promised, and you're not going to fuck it up for me, Locke. You-"

"If they're holding you...hostage or you're afraid that-"

"I'm not afraid of anything."

"I'll protect you. Or your father. Or anyone, really. Just let us help-"

"If you tell-"

"I have to, Haven. I mean, gosh, what the fuck have you been doing for them?"

"Nothing like this." She rolled her eyes, even. "This was what they needed me for. What I told them I would do, really. We had to go and collect the other parts, the other relics, and now we're here and this is the thing only I can do. It was telling them about my Lightning Body Magic that got them to take me, even."

"What are you talking about?"

"I told them that I would get myself across the border, with it," she grumbled a bit, from the thought, "but I was afraid I didn't have enough power to do it, that length. Then I had to explain it in full and they told me it would be a cure to their problems. They would get me across the border and I had to help them break into the palace."

He just stared, for a long few moments before shaking his head at her. "You can't."

"I have to. It's the final piece."

"Haven, I'm telling you-"

"Locke, it's not that-"

"You're going to steal from your country? Your royal family? Your-"

"Fuck," she told him simply, "the country. And the royal family."

"Shut up. Do you know where we are?" Alone in an alley, but still. "Haven-"

"I've seen things you haven't, Locke. More than stupid Magnolia. It's no more the royal family than it is anyone else's. Where do you think they get relics and findings, Locke? You steal them. From locations. From people. And then put them on display to make yourself feel accomplished. Fiore's shit and every where's shit and-"

"You're just so much smarter than me now, Haven, now that you've gone out into the big, real world, and-"

It's not about that."

"And it's not about the country." He was glaring again. "Your family is here. Your father. If something goes missing and they notice it and all anyone can remember is a lightning bolt floating around, who do you think they're going to blame? Who do you think is going to get in trouble?"

She looked off then, from him, and it was so hot that day. So hot. His jacket was killing him and he wanted to take it off, but he also didn't want to have to hear it about that dang chain wrapped around his wrist either.

"I didn't plan for you all to be here."

"Well, we are. So you can't do this. Forget the dumb royal family. I don't really give a shit about them either. But your father-"

"I have to go, Locke."

"Haven-"

"I have way more important people to talk to than you right now."

She shoved him then, away from her, and he glared after her, but didn't chase. No. It seemed to occur to her too, for the first time, the added risk this was going to bring her family and he knew she was a bitch. A terrible person who thrived to make those around her miserable. But she was also, deep down, one of the best people he knew. They'd spent all their lives, up until a year ago, fighting together, for the greater good, to use magic for the right things, the wizard's code.

He wasn't certain he'd put an end to the break-in, but he was hoping he'd at least stopped Haven's little magic trick.

Navi forgot about Haven though, eventually, again, as her mother and she wasted hours preparing for their meeting. The nerves had returned as well though and they didn't stop, not as she finally picked a dress, not as she slipped into it, not as she did her makeup, not as she had her mother touch up her makeup, not even as she found herself there, in the palace, seriously in the palace and it was just so much.

It all felt like a dream.

Wizards weren't exactly the friendliest with those in authority over them and though she'd grown up on the stories of bravery her parents presented, in the face of an unwinnable force, saving the capital city from imminent peril, they just felt like that. Stories. Even as she gave them a voice, tried to give them a voice, they still didn't feel complete because she'd never seen it before. The halls they'd run through, the place they'd lost her mother, but not her real mother, and it was just all…

"It's beautiful, isn't it? Here?" Lucy laughed a bit at her expression as two guards led them to the throne room. "Don't look so scared, Navi. Reverent, fine, but not scared."

She couldn't help it. Navi often felt as if she were experiencing things she was unworthy of. Unlike Haven, who hated her birthright, and Locke who found it challenging, Navi usually saw it as something that should have been gifted to someone else. Anyone else. Her mother's maiden name still carried some weight, in certain circles, all those years since it's disillusion, and her shock of pink hair and faithful Exceed seemed to grant her recognition as the Salamander's daughter no matter how far from home she traveled. It brought her something of pride, when she was younger, and still did, because it was true; her parents were great. Their accomplishments and accolades might not be well-known, but for those who were aware of them, ti was hard to deny how much they'd done to receive so little in return.

Happily.

The life of a mage.

But frequently she found herself struggling to fill those shoes. As she drifted away from steady wizard work, it almost felt like a betrayal to what her parents spent all those years fighting for. The past year though, as she drifted even more, she was starting to realize it wasn't that at all. She wasn't disrespecting their legacy, but rather trying to cement it. Complete it. So no one could ever discount it. Throw stones.

They might not care if they were remembered, if the things that they did counted passed the moment they occurred, but she did. She cared a lot. Her bedtime childhood stories were more than just magnificent and fanciful; they were reality. They were treasures in their own right and belonged in history, some way or another.

It was on her to be certain this was the case.

Queen Hisui's appearance alone almost commanded it, the bowing and whispers of gratitude. As Navi stood before her, as the woman sat upon her throne, she didn't know how they did it. Her parents. The others parents. Fight beside their, well, princess at the time, but the woman before her, in the moment. She knew she couldn't do it. Knowing how much of a goof off her father was, she'd be embarrassed, even, if he were with her, in that moment. Convinced he'd ruin it, somehow.

"Such formality," the Queen laughed, but it was reserved, as she rose from her throne at their presence right before her. "For such a dear friend."

Navi looked to her mother, but the woman only grinned in the same reserved way and her nerves were falling, some. They'd been right. She was still royalty and their ruler and Navi felt that, deep in her bones, but she could just tell that she was a person too. An actual person.

The concept was hard to put into words.

Which was really a bad thing, Navi realized, if she was going to be writing this all down.

The Queen invited them to join her, for tea, and they sat in a room with a glass wall that over looked the capital city and if she thought it looked beautiful, right off the train, she thought there was no place, planet, or concept above it then that could captivate her quite like scene before her then.

She dismissed most her guards, save one, an older gentleman who stood at the entrance, helmet pulled down, and seemed to not hear a word they said. Or was that point?

"You must tell me everything," Hisui insisted, once they were alone, to Lucy, "that has gone on. I know we've fallen out of touch out of the years, but...things got a bit hectic here."

"I understand," Lucy insisted and even nodded. "It's been the same way for me. I got married and had kids and… That's nowhere near to what you do, of course, heh, but-"

"No, I want to hear about it." And it was a round table, which Navi and her mother sat with their chairs close to one another, with the Queen across from them, but she was reaching out then, to rest a hand over Lucy's and it really did feel like two people who once knew one another and were just learning to, once more. "I know your sons participated in the tournament. I usually make an appearance at the latter rounds, to congratulate those who make it. Tell me, did they do well?"

"Well, one of them did. I guess. I mean, he might have horribly maimed the other boy though-"

"Oh, dear," the green haired woman laughed, if not out of a bit of discomfort, but still nodded. "It sounds like something the son of Natsu Dragneel would do though, I guess."

"It was an accident," Lucy was quick to insist. "His spirit, well-"

"He's a celestial mage?" When the blonde nodded, the Queen's smile returned, less reserved. "I would pardon him then, even if it were not. We must stick together. There are so few of us, after all."

"After all."

She withdrew her hands then, looking for the first time at Navi. Her smile was soft then as she asked, "Your mother told me that you wished to speak with me on the...incident, many years ago, during the Grand Magic Games?"

"Yes," Navi whispered and it took a lot, even, just to get that out. Swallowing, she sat up as tall as she could as she said, "I thought that...if I could hear it from you, then maybe..."

"You do know," The queen took over for her, "that the minds were wiped of many of the citizens. Of the event. So whatever you take from this, will never be seen as factual. Merely fanciful. Yes?"

Nodding, Navi said, "It sounds fantastical, anyways. I don't care if people realize it's real or not. All of it or just some of it. They should be able to hear about it. To remember it. Even if it's just as fables."

It was her hands then, that the queen reached for, and Navi laid them in the woman's, staring deeply into her jade eyes.

"I often consider my role in what took place then, late at night, and wonder, when I am gone, when my council and guards are gone, who will be left to remember it with such vibrancy." She sighed some. "OF course, not all of it is pleasant to recall, but then, what's a story without unpleasantry? Not one that most would wish to read, I suppose. So ask then. Anything you wish." As she dropped her hands, the Queen clapped her own together. "Navi, was it? Anything you would like. Would you like some paper? To take notes? General Arcadios-"

"Of course." And, finally, the knight in the corner moved, "your grace."

Navi knew that name well, given it was frequently mentioned both in her mother's writings from the time and the stories themselves. As her eyes followed the man, across the room, the Queen merely grinned.

"Come," she insisted. "There must be many things you have to ask."

As Navi's eyes fell back to her, she had to grin.

Oh, there were.

But the afternoon was drawing to an end and as Navi forgot all about Marin, she was all Kai could think about. He and Erza sat with the others then, in the stands, and he couldn't help but to wring and unwring his hands as he waited for it to begin. Each passing match that it drew closer, he got and sicker and sicker feeling in his stomach and if something happened to Marin…

"Who are we supposed to root for, Dad?" Iggy whispered, eventually, to the man who only snickered.

"Marin, of course," Happy answered easily. "She's on Fairy Tail."

"You always back a winner," Lucky said because he heard Gray say that once, when the men were gambling down in the game room.

"So...Haven?" Iggy asked, but Ajax only snorted, annoyed at them.

"Marin's super strong!" He punched the air in excitement. "And a Dragon Slayer." Then he punched with his other arm. "But Haven's Haven. She's the strongest person I know. All on her own. No cheater magic at all. Her power is all her own." He dropped both arms as he stared down at the sandpit. "So either one of them could win. It doesn't matter who you root for, anyways; they're both-"

"Dumb girls," Lucky muttered as he remembered his original problem from the day.

"Would you all shut up?" Kai didn't like having to stand so close to the kids, but the adults all seemed more down than him. Especially the Master. Laxus. Most of them, really, seemed to just be waiting for it. The moment that Haven walked out there.

It would be the first time they'd seen her in the flesh in over a year, after all.

"They both," Erza informed all the boys, who seemed to be working themselves into a frenzy in their anticipation, "will fight with their hearts. Their true strength. No holding back. They have much to prove. They-"

"Shut," and that one came from Laxus, but was directed towards the woman he faulted for all of this, "up."

Erza sent him a look, but quickly seemed to recall her place (if not the fact she'd pressured his daughter into a dangerous situation), and merely bowed her head. He was, after all, her master.

Evergreen seemed the most concerned, really, and the least enthused to see Haven again. This was known mainly because she stated as much, multiple times by that point. She'd never had too good a relationship with her oldest niece while having a father closer one to the younger. The year apart had hardly brought the pair together. If anything, ti only reinforced Ever's insistence that things always would have been better, were Haven not around.

Yet…

She would admit she was glad that her niece was apparently safe and well enough to participate in a tournament. Just not aloud.

Locke didn't want to be around the others, while he watched. He hardly could, honestly, because he had a bad feeling. Haven had stormed off from him to, in his assumptions, go confront her treasure hunter friends. If that hadn't gone well then he didn't have high hopes for the oldest Dreyar girl to bring any leniency to the younger.

Marin was the first into the pit and Kai felt worse then, seeing her from so far away. So small. Ajax yelled loudly though and hoped she could hear him, place him, as he waved his hands wildly for her attention. If she did, she showed no signs of it.

He swallowed, Laxus did, at the sight of Haven next. Well. Different, but well. Even from so far away, just from the way she held herself, he could tell she was different. She looked different. Which made sense. She left home a scared little kid that he expected to either come back bruised and beaten or with her hand out for jewels. Instead, she'd never returned and now here she was, a woman. That's what she was now. But Marin…

"Who do you root for, boss?" Bickslow had hit the booze a bit much, as a reward for Ajax doing well, of course, and couldn't help his snicker. He was glad to see her too, his oldest niece, but at the same time, the tension they were all putting behind this felt a bit silly to him. "Your loyal, faithful, slayer daughter? Or your favorite?"

He lucked out in that his slurring was too thick for the hardly paying attention man to hear it. Lisanna did shove him quite heavily, however, and tell him to hush.

"You look nice, Marin. Healthy. Have you been training?" Haven was yelling across the pit at her, ignoring the fact the ref was trying to go over, quickly, the rules, as they did before each match. This got her a glare from the man, but she didn't care. Her eyes only stayed trained on her younger sister. "I bet you didn't expect to see me here. I didn't you. Why are you in this? Hard up for cash?"

There were so many things, over the past year, that Marin found herself wanting to tell her sister. Weird things. They'd never been close, but as they got older, they could have conversations that didn't involve Haven absolutely terrorizing her. And though Marin fared far better, in their year apart, than she ever had the many years they'd spent with one another, that didn't mean she hadn't experienced a loss. A manageable one, But still there. Present.

But she said nothing to her sister then, no matter what she yelled at her. She couldn't. That wasn't Haven across from her. No. That was an enemy. One that was going to hurt Kai if she hadn't stepped in. Yes. Kai.

It was only when he was threatened, her only real, true friend that she'd ever really used her powers. Every fully realized her own strength. If she could just think of him-

"I've thought about this my whole life," Haven kept up as, finally, the ref was stepping back and it was just them once more. "Destroying a slayer. Of course, I never thought that it would be the weakest one to ever exist, but everyone has to start somewhere, don't they, Marin? Tell you what; you come over here, take the first hit. Attack. Whatever. I'll eat it and then I'll finish you. Or would you rather I just do that right out? Right now? One shot, one kill. I'll let you pick, just this once. No hard feelings, right? It must suck, spending your whole life as a little waitress in a guildhall. Be worthless to your guild. Constantly. I'm more relevant in Fairy Tail, after shitting all over it, than you, Marin. Does that bother-"

"Shut up!" She wasn't one for yelling. Really, she wasn't, but she was tired of Haven's voice. It had been gone from her head, where it had tormented her all of her early life, for over a year, but now Haven seemed to be trying to make up for lost time. Glaring over at her sister, Marin took a step forwards. "You're nothing."

She meant to the guild. Because she wasn't. Haven's name meant nothing anymore and Fairy Tail was so far removed form when she did that, really, the girl had hardly existed at all. Honest.

But Haven only smirked at her and Marin always wanted to knock it off her face. Maybe she didn't realize that's what she wanted, when she was young, but she did. Oh, she did.

"I," Haven told her with a tap to her chest, "am everything."

And she wasn't just talking about the guild.

Marin yelled it, the call for her roar, and they'd never seen it before. The others. Kai couldn't help it as Haven was washed away with water. He yelled and jumped like Ajax who'd only waited his entire life to see it.

Marin wasn't a baby anymore.

Laxus wasn't as easily convinced as the others as they all seemed a bit shocked to see how easily this attack knocked Haven over. He stood perfectly still as Mira, at his side, reached over to rest a hand on his arm.

Locke felt much the same, where he was watching.

"I told you," Haven whispered from where she found herself, down on all fours, muddy now, "that I'd give you one clean hit, didn't I, Marin?"

She could feel her heartbeat, Marin could, and as Haven jumped back up, a blast was sent across the sand towards her and struck her, full force. When she went down, no one in the family seemed to excited. Even Ajax held his breath.

Marin had never been hit like that before. By lightning. She'd grown up being bullied by Haven, but mostly the girl used her regular strength against her. Not magic. Never to that extent either. As she laid there, rather dumbly, wondering how Locke and Ravan put up with this for so long. Lightning. It felt like every hair on her body was standing up.

"Get back up." Haven had and was stalking over to her then. "Marin. That hardly phased you. Get up. Now."

She shocked her again, Haven did, just a slight bolt and Marin could hear a ref call for the count. She didn't know it, but in the stands, their mother's hand began to clinch their father's bicep and he knew this would happen. Laxus did. Marin would choke or be unable to keep up and then Haven would-

"I said to get up! Now! I didn't give up my dream for you to suck so fucking hard at being it instead!"

Marin pushed herself up then, at that, and Haven stayed where she was, a few feet from her, as the ref's count stopped.

"Fight," Haven growled at her simply. "Marin. I swear, if you don't, then I'll slaughter you. You stepped in here with me, now prove that you belong here."

She didn't understand what the game was, that Haven was playing, but only nodded. When Haven shot a bolt at her that time, she dodged it easily, and then they were on.

"Haven's toying with her," Laxus whispered, softly, as his wife's hand fell from his arm and Elfman was yelling then, about men or niece or something, but it didn't matter. He was blocking them all out. "She could have taken her out. She still can."

But she didn't want to. Marin knew it, couldn't understand it, but did her best to keep up with what Haven did throw at her and she had a trump card. If Haven wasn't going to go all out, if she wasn't going to end it, fine. She'd weaken her, just enough, and then she could use it. End it.

She could win.

Marin had never felt that faith in herself, not really, but it was there. A drive. Competition. She could beat Haven. Not in a little brawl at the guildhall or through bickering over whose toy was what. If Haven didn't end things, then Marin could and she could beat her sister and then...then…

Then would she be a real Dragon Slayer?

But it wasn't like Haven's attacks weren't landing. Or that she was completely phoning it in. Not really. It seemed more like a test. The more Marin took, the more she gave and they never got close enough for her to land her signature, knockout punch, but all it would take was one slip up, from her sister. A single one…

Marin's magical power well wasn't too deep though and as the fight wore on, trading blows and spells, she knew she had to set up for it. Her killshot. It would be too embarrassing to come so far and then just run out of magic. Demoralizing.

"Water Dragon Talons!"

And the water was like bricks as it whipped Haven, who failed to dodge both lines of waves that flew from her sister's outstretched palms. As she jumped back to recover though, Marin was making a new chant then, one she'd never heard before.

"Water Dragon's Prison."

She was going to drown her. Haven didn't know much about the specialties that went along with a water slayer (she'd never known of one, outside of her sister), but knew that they all had spells specific to their own capabilities.

It was like being drenched, all of a sudden, by a large wave. But instead of the wave passing, it just began to close up, all around her, and then she was suspended in the air, in some sort of….sphere of water. She could only stare out at her sister for a moment in shock.

Marin, tired from expelling so much magic, looked victorious as Haven began to slam her hands against what should have been just water. But it wasn't just water. It was magic. Slayer magic. The invisible force field that seemed to be levitating the bubble of water was impenetrable and she was going to drown.

"Holy shit. Marin!" Kai had to be grabbed by Erza then, as he almost fell over the railing before their seats. "You have her! Marin! Yes!"

Mira and Laxus glanced at one another, sharing a look for the first time in forever and...was it wrong? To be so happy to watch? One child destroy the other?

But Haven wasn't destroyed. And after her initial panic, she noticed one of Marin's hands were still being held up and, from it, a tiny little stream of water led from the magic circle in her palm to the outer edges of the magical bubble she was trapped in. It wasn't levitating. Not fully.

She unleashed it then, all her power, electricity jumping from her and into the bubble, electrifying the water and Marin didn't have time to realize how bad this might before her as the currents of liquid became electric and traveled right up into her palm and across her body.

Haven just kept going too, unleashing from the bubble and Marin had to break the spell, not because she wanted to or because Haven was actually drowning, but because she was scorched, from inside out.

As she fell forwards, watching with bleary eyes as her bubble burst and Haven sat on her knees, taking in deep breaths of sweet glorious air, she wondered how she could ever let herself believe it. Feel it. Think it.

That she was anywhere close to beating her sister.

As Haven got back to her feet, the count started and Marin only stayed down. Didn't move.

"Do you need," she heard the ref ask as he came over to her, "a medic?"

She whispered something to the contrary and he was rushing right over then, to raise Haven's hand in victory. But only for a second. Just as quickly, Haven was shaking him away and rushing back over there, to the side of her sister.

Squatting, Haven stared down at her for a long few moments before saying, "Are you dying, Marin? If you're not, then get up. Now. I mean it. Get to your feet. If you teach your body that it can just lay there, after defeat, you'll never learn to rise in it. So get up. Don't make me drag you."

She didn't want to. At all. She felt broken. Deceived. She'd never wanted something so badly before, tasted it, envisioned it, and then had it ripped away from her.

But Haven had.

And as her sister stumped up, she only stood fully, reaching out to grab her sister's own arm and raise it, just as hers had been before. The crowd seemed confused, their family above all, but were glad to cheer regardless, for the both of them, given what they'd just seen. A slayer was rare to fall against another mage. And in such dramatic fashion.

Letting go of Marin's arm, Haven instead tossed an arm over her sister's shoulders and Marin stared up in confusion at her, but her older sister just pulled her closer.

"Get stronger," was what she ordered next though she was still all smiles over victory. "Marin."

She placed their parents in the crowd, their mother clapping and happy, celebrating, with their family, as their father just stood there, arms crossed over his chest, looking less than amused, even from such a distance.

Still, she nodded slightly as Haven let her go and whispered when her eyes fell to the mud she'd created all across the sandpit, "I will."

* * *

**Y'all didn't think I was gonna keep giving you those shirmpy little chapters, did you? Anyways, I can't be the only one who always wanted Plue to just stab something with his damn nose, am I? Because I've always wanted him to just fucking skewer an enemy with his nose. **


	5. Chapter 5

Tripping over himself in his glee, Kai fell into Marin, the second he saw her, nearly tackling the girl to the ground, right outside of where the fighters would line up, before their call.

"You're okay!" He couldn't help it. He squeezed her, tightly. "And you did so well."

"Kai," she giggled. "I lost."

But it didn't matter.

They'd walked out of the pit together, Marin and Haven had, but she left her then, there, with her friend, and continued on. Because she had her own people to get back to. She could see them, waiting for her. They'd indulged her little match and now it was time to get back to business. Back to-

"Ah! My niece is such a man!"

She saw black, Haven did, as the life was suddenly squeezed out of her and she was being lifted, suddenly, into the air. A very disconcerting feeling.

"If that's what you want to call it, Elfman, than I suppose you can."

"That's what I'm calling it, Ever, so I don't-"

"Put me down!" Haven was _not_ pleased. At all. "What are you-"

"Had faith in ya the whole time, kid!" Bickslow was there, in front of her, as Elfman dropped her down to the ground so that he could get back to what he enjoyed the most; arguing with his girlfriend. "Other than when I didn't."

"I did!" Ajax was there too, but didn't hug her this time. Just jumped up and down a bunch, in front of her, while tossing both arms wildly. He had a lot of pent up energy after his quiet morning. "The whole time, Haven! You can beat anyone!"

But her eyes were passed him then, to his mother, who was with her mother, and behind them, Freed, yeah, but mostly all she saw was her father.

"Haven." Her aunt Lisanna came with her mother to pat at her cheek. "You look good. Have you been alright? You stopped writing-"

"I've missed you so much." Mirajane hugged her though, tightly, as Haven only rolled her eyes. "You have to tell us everything. Everything. We'll all go out to dinner and-"

"Aren't you gonna introduce us? Haven?"

They'd all gotten so lost in her presence that they hadn't noticed, really, the three guys that didn't just bypass their little group, like the others walking about, and instead came to stand by it. Haven had noticed though. And had hoped to avoid this.

It was awkward, to say the least, for her. But she had to do very little talking. That's what Locke noticed as he approached, but hung back some, at the sight of the other guys there, with the family. He'd hoped to see Haven and Marin, hang about until the oldest finished up with her family, and then hound her again, about what exactly her plans were for the whole robbing the palace thing.

But he hadn't been quick enough. Clearly.

He couldn't hear them, Locke couldn't, because he wasn't close enough, but he saw Mr. Easygoing shake each of their hands and he was probably putting on, in that fake tone he had, and they were all falling for it because Haven was just standing at his side and not saying anything to the contrary.

"Are you...in a guild?" Mirajane asked, over there, eventually, as the man guy shook hands with Laxus. He, at least, did not look to be as taken by the man as the others were. "Or-"

"Treasure hunters."

This got some raised eyebrows out of some of them, but Ajax just punched the air because Haven was dating a treasure hunter now, he was pretty sure, and that was even better than just being a wizard. She was a wizard, a treasure hunter, and also the coolest person he knew.

Man, Ajax really felt like he had the best cousin.

Laxus snorted though, at the assertion. He hadn't spoken a word to Haven, not in over a year, and didn't even then as he said simply, "My great-grandfather was a treasure hunter."

"I've heard. Yuri Dreyar. Haven said-"

"And he was a piece of shit. Just like all treasure hunters."

"Laxus." Mirajane was not pleased with him. But what else was new.

Haven just rolled her eyes though. It would be one thing, if it was just _him_ there at the moment, but it was all three of them and they were only moments away from her dopey family mixing with her equally new dopey trio of...whatever they were.

"I have to go." She did it then, grabbed the arm of _him_ and Locke could see it, from across the way, though her words were lost on him. "We… I'll come by. Later. Tonight. If you want. And we can meet for dinner."

"Do you know where we're staying?" her mother asked because she wasn't going to make it easy for Haven to just slip away, back into the night. Nope. "Because-"

"I'm sure your friend Locke's told you. Huh? Haven?" The man grinned down at her, just allowing her to clutch tightly to his arm. He didn't seemed phased at all from the way her father was glaring so heavily at him. Not one bit. "We'll be by."

"I'll," Haven corrected as, finally, she began to drag him away, the other two rushing to follow, "be by."

And then she was gone.

"That was definitely interesting," Evergreen remarked simply as they all stood around, kind of dumbly, except for Ajax, who was rather giddy because he was so cool, that other guy, and maybe he could go hunt for some treasure with them, eventually? Maybe? "Haven has quite the taste."

"Shut up." Laxus didn't even look at her as he refused to stare after his oldest also. It was necessary, anyways, as he was watching his youngest approach then, hand in hand with Kai. Clearly beaten up and not feeling well. Haven could go off with her...whatever that was, but he had to turn his attention back to where it belonged. "Marin."

Locke felt easy coming over then and everyone was congratulating Marin, for lasting as long as she did, but he wasn't interested in all that. For one, it felt a bit disingenuous to say something like that. And for two, neither Haven nor Marin were the Dreyar he wanted to speak with at the moment.

"I don't like those guys that Haven's hanging around," he told Laxus after they'd all walked back to the inn, only to disperse some. Mira and Lisanna were tending to Marin's wounds while most the others went off to spend a night out in the city, doing whatever they wanted. Ajax though insisted that Freed take him out training again.

"I have to prepare," he insisted. "For my match tomorrow."

Of course.

Laxus wanted to have as cigar, after all the stress he'd gone through, and he was doing so outside the inn, seated on a bench out there. The demon would get all pissy at him if he did it inside. Locke, who was still hanging around instead of going drinking with the others, sat down beside him and spoke.

At his words though, the slayer only snorted before saying, "Yeah, well."

"I'm serious, Master. I don't think…Haven might be in some trouble. Or be getting into trouble. Or-"

"Haven is trouble," he said simply. "I'm not fucking stupid. I know people, whether she knows it or not. I know about some of her little exploits around Fiore. It's not my job to patrol what she does. And it ain't yours either. Don't come off as bitter, Locke."

He blinked some, then frowned because, "It's not about that," like he insisted them, to his master, but because no, seriously, it wasn't about that.

At all.

Haven could do whatever she wanted. Haven was doing whatever she wanted. It didn't matter if it hurt his feelings or what he thought about the situation. She'd always done her own thing and now that was completely separate from him. Fine. Whatever. If it wasn't for the whole 'rob the palace shit' he probably wouldn't even be out there, trying to delicately talk about things with the slayer. But…

That was the thing. The hold up. Yeah, he could have told him what Haven was planning. Maybe he should have. Maybe in a perfect world, this was how he got his problem solved and he could just pass the whole thing off on her father who, not only would stop Haven from going through with it, but probably knock some sense into the treasure hunters.

But he couldn't do that.

He'd never been able to.

Locke and Haven could spend a lifetime away from one another and one fact would forever remain unchanged; they were a thick as thieves. They didn't...tattle on one another. Not even when they were little kids. It was an unspoken agreement, a blood oath. You could hate it as much as you wanted, what the other did, what it was going to cause you, but you could never tell. For all her looking out for her own self interested (and gosh, if that wasn't one of Haven's mainstays), she'd never thrown him under a bus. Not once. He was sacrificial to her. Not in that way, at least.

She had a new gang of thieves though, now, that she was indebted to. That she seemed to...like being indebted to. That's the only thing he could think of. Haven could have back stabbed them, double crossed them, run off and refused to help them, the second they got her safely back in Magnolia, but this didn't seem to on the table for the blonde. He thought that they had something on her, that there was some reason that she had to go through with it, that they were forcing her somehow, but how could that be? When she seemed to come and go as she pleased, to a certain extent, and even appeared to be the one dragging Easygoing around, before, in front of her family.

And what was all that, anyways? Why did they want to meet her family? What was the game? Haven and them were playing something, between just the two of them, it felt like, her and that main guy, and it kind of...fucked Locke up a bit. It was better, to think of her as unwillingly being forced along, but if she was a willing participant...if she was...enjoying the game too…

The Master was no help because he couldn't explain this to him. At all. No. And it was dumb to think he could. Laxus thought he was just jealous or something, and maybe he was, maybe a little, but it was more than that. A lot more.

He left with the intentions of finding her. Haven. To confront her again. Maybe even all of them. Instead, he found someone different.

"Locke!" Navi tossed her arms around him, tightly, when they ran into one another, out on the street, as her mother stood by with a grin. "It went so amazing! You have no idea."

He really didn't.

She wanted to talk to him, he could tell, and he wanted to talk to her, he really did, and he would. They'd have all the time in the world to talk. Honest. Just...after he finished with Haven.

Like always.

But Navi had a bunch of better listeners waiting for her, back at the hotel. Her brothers were rooming with her parents and, that night, she found herself doing the same as she sat on one of the bed, talking nonstop about the Queen and the palace and everything she'd heard and learned and Iggy and Lucky were kinda annoyed, just a bit, because talking could get boring, but they only fell asleep eventually while she kept going on and Natsu laughed some, just a little, because yeah, it did suck. A lot. That she wasn't into it anymore. Going out with him on jobs.

But when he got to see her like that, all animated and happy and… It was the same things he felt, when he was finished with a fight. When he got to come home and tell her about it.

How could you feel down on yourself because someone was feeling better about themselves?

"And before we left," Navi recalled with great pride as Happy was snuggled in her arms and her parents, sitting on the bed across from the one her brothers were already passed out on, grinned over at her, "Dad, that if I actually finish it, if I really do write it, all of it, and I send her the manuscript and she likes it then… Could you imagine? If the Queen likes, enjoys, something you wrote? That would be...everything."

"Yeah, Nav," he agreed with a nod. "It really would."

But Locke's everything was being difficult to locate. He almost gave up, went back to the hotel, hoped she'd actually showed up to meet with her parents. But then he found her, as the sun was fully falling from the sky, ushering in the night, leaving a bar with the trio.

"Locke." She didn't greet him. No. Mr. Easygoing took care of that for her. His arm was around her shoulders then and Haven didn't knock it away and wow, Locke was pretty jealous, actually, of the fact they'd gotten to spend the last hour drinking while he just worried about their dumbasses. "I knew you'd come and get us. Time for dinner already, Locke? You would know everyone better than me, there. Who should I get in good with? Eh? Who-"

"I'm not going to let you do it."

This was his final stand. He had no idea when the plan was supposed to go into affect and, with Marin knocked out of the competition and Navi finished up in the capital, he had no idea how much longer he'd be staying. The boys had a match in the morning, but if those didn't go well, then it would end Fairy Tail's time in the capital. He could stick around longer, for Haven's sake, but to what benefit? When he was nearly certain she was just going to ditch out on him, like before, without saying anything?

No.

Locke was putting an end to things before they got much further.

"Go to dinner? Locke?"

"Dinner's really good you know...because...because...when you have dinner, with someone...when you eat a meal, like that, with someone, you really get a chance to...to connect. To get to know." He laughed some, the awkward one, the wiry one, and even smiled a bit. "I wan to get to know you, Locke."

"Black steel," the tall one agreed, but he had no coin this time. "We should all get to know you."

But he hadn't been phased by them the entire time and only continued to glare at Mr. Easygoing. He could feel Haven's eyes, Locke could, because she knew what he was getting at, what he meant, and she would hate for him to say it, but he had to.

"I'm not," he repeated himself, this time for clarity, "going to let you rob the palace."

He blinked, Easygoing did, and the wiry one looked to him though the tall one's gaze remained heavily on Locke.

"Rob," he finally repeated as his arm slipped off Haven's shoulders and she was looking up to him then. "I don't rob things, Locke. I'm a treasure hunter. I seek things. I take things. I sell things. Things that belong to no one. Other than those who wish to turn a profit. And when I find something, only to have it taken from me, by the royal family, I retrieve it. Do you understand? I'm not a thief. You can't steal what no one truly owns. They had their opportunity to pay me for what I found. They chose not to. That's not my problem. Now, I'm going to steal it back, after having finished the complete set, and then I'm going to sell it to another, more deserving royal family, who properly compensates those who put their lives on the line. There's a moral code, with treasure hunting, and getting back something that was forcibly stripped from me hardly breaks that. Whether you understand this or not."

"I don't give a shit what you or your dumb friends do." His eyes fell then, Locke's did, and he stared right at Haven. "I'm not letting you, Haven. I'm not letting you do your dumb magic. He can call it whatever he wants and so can you, but the guards will call it what it is. Theft. Do you know how badly that will ruin your image? How are you ever going to come back to the guild, to Fairy Tail, if the crown is against you?"

"I'm not, Locke."

But he didn't believe that. He couldn't. Not fully.

"This is what I'm doing now." She took a step forwards, between them. "I'm not going to do it. To get into the palace. My Lightning Body Magic. I already have another idea. So don't worry about your dumb guild. But you're not going to stop me. Us. You-"

"I'm not letting you." He still hadn't moved. Not in the slightest. "You're not doing it."

"Damn it, Locke, just-"

"I don't dislike ya, Locke." He was speaking again, to him, and this time his smirk almost seemed amused. Almost. "I think it's kinda cute, in fact. We all have someone, some pitiful someone, waiting around for us, back at home. All of us. Haven's told us all so much about you. She never shuts up about you, even. Locke. You don't disappoint."

"Leave him alone." Finally, it was there. That tone. The real tone. Haven. She was glaring up at Mr. Easygoing then. "He's not going to do anything and you know it. Let's just go. We-"

"You share in a guild, don't ya? It's no different, with treasure hunters. We all take our part." And he shoved Haven, that time, towards Locke. His smirk was failing and he didn't look so jovial. "I don't want your little girlfriend, Locke. I've had your little girlfriend, Locke. But she owes a debt. Haven know this. Don't you, Haven? And when it's time to call it in, I will. And she'll listen. Because Haven knows how this works. And then when her debts filled...well, she'll probably still come back to me, Locke, because I'm just better than you, aren't I? Locke?"

But he felt like he was winning, Locke did, because when they moved to leave, Haven didn't follow. Just glared after them. Silent. That, over everything else, was what really fucked with Locke's head.

"Why won't you just tell me?" he complained, once they were gone, and it was just them standing alone, in front of a busy bar, one of the many in the capital of Fiore. "Haven? What he has over you? If you just tell me, then I can help you. Get you out of this. Then-"

"There's nothing. Locke. He doesn't-"

"Then why-"

"You don't understand."

"Then help me."

"His power..."

But she didn't sound frightened. At all. She hadn't the entire time. Haven was in awe.

It made Locke sick to his stomach.

"You're into him. It. All of it."

"Shut up, Locke."

"What happened in Bosco, Haven?"

But she wouldn't tell him. Only shoved him, hard, and then she was walking off after the trio.

"Just fuck off, Locke."

He wanted to. Then. It was over. The night before had been his closure that he'd been wanting, with Haven. She was different now and he was different now and they just weren't on the same page. The best he could do was keep his guild safe and just hope she looked out for herself. If she wanted to break into the palace, fine. If she wanted to refuse his help, alright. If power was so attractive and desirable to her, okay. Fine. Alright.

That was that.

All the answers he needed over the past year, he got.

He was going to go back to the hotel. Let Haven's family know that she and her 'boyfriend' wouldn't be around and that they should just write her off their lists, honestly, like he was going to.

But then he ran into him.

Not...Mr. Easygoing. No. Rather, someone else that once got him all fucked up in the head, when it came to the girl. At the moment though, to see him there, for the first time in the decade they'd known one another, was a relief to Locke.

"Ravan."

He didn't understand why he was there. Was he on a job? Was he there for the tournament? Had he heard that Marin...or Kai...were in it? And come to see them? It didn't matter. He was there and Locke was rushing to catch him, on the street, grabbing his arm while calling his name.

The other man had his bandanna, as always, covering half his face and a cap pulled low over his hair, but his eyes were questioning, if not with a bit of a glare to them, as he spun around to face him. They'd never reconciled, in any way, since Haven had left and hardly spoke, even. They avoided one another, at one point, but now just seemed to function on different schedules.

But there was still one thing that could unite them.

"Haven," Locke told him simply, "needs help. And I can't… I can't help her."

They just stared then, at one another, for a long few seconds before Ravan nodded and Locke walked on, the way he'd been going, while Ravan turned back the way he'd come. The older of the tow continued on to the inn where he went to the Master's door and knocked.

"You shouldn't," was all he said to the man, "wait for Haven. For dinner. She...won't be coming."

He was pretty sure they were all expecting that though.

When he fell into his bed at the inn, in his own room, for the first time, Locke didn't cry or get sad or even feel poorly about what had happened with Haven. It kind of felt like when he returned from a request unsuccessful. So long as you did the best you could, so long as you gave it your all, there really wasn't much else a person could do. He wanted a year to have changed nothing, but it changed everything and when he got back to Magnolia, he was just going to leave Haven in Crocus.

It was where she was planning on leaving him.

Haven caught the guys easily enough and she got a bit of a shove as well as a stuttering ramble, but she only assured them that Ravan was done, it was over, and he wouldn't get in the way so don't worry about it. _He_ was pissed though, she could tell, and told her it was time.

"I don't give a shit how you get it. Haven. But I want what's owed to me. Today. Tonight. I need my complete set."

So did she.

Once she got that piece, her debt was paid and she could go on her way, yeah, sure, but more importantly, they would be onto their next venture. After a bender, once they sold off the complete set. She hoped to stick around for at least most of that. She was so close, to get his trust. All of his trust. His faith. A few more months and he would tell her where he learned it. What she'd seen him do. That magic…

It had to be hers. She wanted it. Or at least something close to it. Then…

They'd stopped, on a footbridge, to have this conversation. The streets were thinning out some, as they were drifting further from the heart of the city, and Haven just looked down at the little river that ran around the perimeter of the town. He stood by her side, his two followers on his, and it was just how things had to be.

Haven had to get stronger and she'd never have another chance like this. At magic like that. You do what you had to.

But as she felt the words on her tongue, the agreement, someone was walking over to them. Ravan always had a much easier time, finding her, than Locke did. And there he was.

"Did you bring your entire family with you? Haven? To Crocus?"

She ignored him though, as she rushed right over to Ravan. He'd stood there, on the end of the bridge, and called out to her. But didn't come forwards. Not towards the others. He was clearly cautious.

"Locke," was all Ravan said as she made it over to him, "said you were having some trouble. Is that true?"

"No." She'd been surprised, at first, at his appearance there, but definitely wasn't liking the way this was heading. "Since when are the two of you-"

"Trouble?" _He_ was coming over then as well. The other two though just hung back. Haven wished she had a swell. Because she could feel it now. She'd mistaken it at first, but Ravan… "Who's having trouble?"

But Ravan didn't speak. He didn't need to. Haven was staring at him then with a heavy gaze.

"What happened to you?" she asked, quickly, because it was just oozing off him. The feeling. The magic. It felt intense and dark and heavy. "Ravan?"

"Ravan? All the people you told me about," _he_ was still going on as he came to stand behind her then, right in front of Ravan, "and never once did I hear his name. Who is this? Haven?"

He was reaching up then, Ravan was, and he pulled his bandanna down. It was dark out, but in the light of the moon as well as the backlight the city behind them gave off, she could see it. The bottom half of his face was covered in….scars. Long lines that ran all around it, like veins, almost and the tint was wrong, in places, in his flesh.

"I got," the man answered her simply, "power."

"What'd you do to yourself?"

"I took a risk." Just as quickly, he was pulling the bandanna back up, over his markings, thing them once more. "It paid off."

"No one told me about-"

"Did you ask?"

About him? She shook her head slowly and he shrugged in reply.

"Then I guess," he said, but his eyes were on the man behind her then, "that's why."

"I asked," _he_ ordered that time, "who this is. Haven."

"It doesn't matter who I am." He was still adjusting it, the cloth over his face. "Whatever it is that you and Haven have going on is over. It's done. Fuck off."

"Oh, is it?"

"It is."

"You speak for her?"

No. No one did. And Haven knew that. She could feel that. No one ever had. But they didn't get it. Ravan. Locke. It wasn't that time away from Magnolia had changed her (though it had) or like Locke thought, that she was still dealing with shit form Bosco (she was), but rather that the entire world was different.

They went on jobs. To gain respect from their master. Who would reward them with their cut of the jewels and offer them familial relations and protection. When you stripped that away, you were just nobody. And Haven had been nobody. For a long while. She still was. But _him_, he knew things. He had things. He knew people and had connections and his magic was so, so alluring and strange and...if they saw it, they'd know. They'd get it.

But they hadn't. They couldn't. He would cast a spell like that, of that power, in the capital city. No. She'd only seen a glimpse of it once, felt his full power, and yeah, fine, Locke was right. He was an asshole and he was using her, but if she was using him back, didn't that even things out?

They were alike. Him and her. More than her and Locke. Maybe even more than her and Ravan in those days. When someone was useful to you, you just didn't throw them away. You couldn't. If she was never going to go back home, if she was never going to return to Fairy Tail, then she had to make herself as useful and valuable to as many people as possible.

And eventually, like him, she'd have people who owed her too. Debts to be filled.

It was like she told Locke before. She wasn't in a relationship. And she didn't need his help. Or Ravan's. If she wanted out, she could get herself out. Not easily, but she could. If she wanted. Mutual benefit was a commodity though and if she burned this bridge, she'd burn a lot more.

"Rai-jin. Ha-ven. Drey-ar." It was the tall one speaking then and he flipped a coin, high in the air. Ravan refused to look at him though. "She has too much baggage. Too many people know. It's a wash now."

"I do not." And she spoke then, for herself, finally, and turned sharply to glare over at him. "Shut the fuck up. What do you know? I'm doing this, I-"

"Black Steel Gajeel. His son. Locke. He knows too much. Ravan. This one. Knows too much." He tossed the coin again, but that time over the railing, where it splashed into the water. "Even if she gets it out for us, somehow, without getting caught, I don't trust the two of them to not say something. They'll believe it was us, regardless, but if we have two Fairy Tail mages informing the Queen with certainty, then we will be hunted. Truly hunted, now. Too much heat and we won't get the entire set out of the country."

"They won't say anything. They don't know anything." Haven was looking then, to him, but he was still staring at Ravan who returned the gaze. Still, she insisted, "I can do this. I'm going to do this."

"Your power...your magic...what is it? Ravan?" He was ignoring Haven and even shoved her a bit, away, as he took a step closer to the reequip mage. "I only know of one way to get those scars. I've seen it before. Normally doesn't turn out too well for the person who has them. Your body rejected a lacrima. And your body turned against you. But what, just what, could have been in that lacrima? Hmmm? To cause that?"

He'd known though, all about Locke. All his powers, all his strengths. Haven did talk way too fucking much about the guy. So he'd known that he could take him, if he had to take him, but the power radiating off Ravan…

From behind his bandanna, Ravan only told Haven, "If you don't want my help, I don't feel like giving it. Do you what you want. But your boyfriend is worried about you. You should check in with him, eventually, sometimes."

He felt no fear, turning his back on them, because Ravan felt no fear of anything anymore and they all just watched him leave, silently. There was no one around, it seemed, and Ravan took the long way back into the heart of the city, where there were people, where the inns and bars were. Just in case. In case Haven came after him. So he'd hear her footsteps.

But she didn't.

When he arrived at the inn, it was around the same time Kai, Marin, and Erza were arriving back from dinner. His brother tossed his arms around him, laughing just from the sight.

"Did you hear," Kai asked as he released him, "that Marin practically beat Haven in a fight? In the tournament? Is that why you came? It was amazing, Ravan. You should have seen it."

He could see her, Marin, all beat up and bandaged and figured that was enough.

"I called for him. On the lacrima." Erza didn't move to hug the man like Marin was then, but did smile, just from the sight of him. "When I heard Haven was around and I knew his job wasn't far off, I figured it would only be courteous."

"But he didn't have to fight in a tournament," Kai muttered and Erza shoved his head before going to do the same, gently to Ravan's.

"I'm retiring," she offered simply with a bit of a shrug. "As your time in the tournament has come to an end, Marin, you are welcome to celebrate a loss, I suppose, as Kai wishes. Now with Ravan as well. But do take heed of what I told you over dinner; there is learning in loss, but only if you take time to properly consider it."

They watched the woman walk back into the inn, the three of them did, before Kai snickered and Marin smiled up at Ravan.

"We don't know where Haven is," she admitted to the man with a bit of a shrug. "Around, I would guess, because she has a match in the morning, but-"

"Seen her." He started walking then, away from the hotel, and the other two were quick to follow. "She's fine."

"Then let's forget her." Kai liked that idea a lot. "You should hear about all Marin did. It was amazing!"

"W-Well-"

"No, Marin, it was."

It was.

When Locke awoke the next morning, it was just as miserably as he had the one before. No hangover this time. Just a heavy heart. Still, one of the twins and Ajax had a match and he'd ignored Navi the day before, when she tried to get him to listen about her stuff, and, well, if he was really leaving Haven behind, it was best to start them.

But when he stumbled into some new clothes and headed to the little cafe next door, it wasn't just to find the Dragneel's up. No. The Strausses and Dreyars were there. Erza, Kai. Ravan. And…

"Do you just always wake up so late now?"

He glared at Haven and Ajax, who was sitting in a chair beside her, jumped up to go find another one, leaving it for the man to take. They were in the back of the cafe, a bunch of tables all put together, everyone in such a high spirits. Locke imagined it waas because she was there.

He found it hard to mimic.

"What," he grumbled as he fell into the seat beside her, "are you doing?"

"I can't eat with my family?"

"Haven-"

"You can come with me. When I go back to my hotel room. We'll talk then."

He didn't want to. At all. But something was different again and, when he glanced at Ravan, it was to find the other man's eyes waiting for him, all the way at the other end of the table, where he sat more with his brother and Marin. And Erza. Of course.

"Have you checked the schedule yet? Haven?" Her mother was speaking then, after greeting Locke, and was smiling brightly at her. Laxus seemed in better spirits as well. He should, anyways. With his daughter back around, in front of them, safe, the demon had suddenly become a lot more...agreeable. For the time being. "Do you know who you're battling?"

She stabbed an egg then, with a work, bursting the yoke. "I'm actually taking off today."

That brought down the mood at the table. Even Navi and Happy, who were teasing Lucky gently over the fact he was the only one of the younger boys not competing that day, frowned over at her at this.

"What do you mean?" Locke was the one who spoke though, but it was more in accusation. "What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything." She gave him a look but just as quickly was looking to her mother once more. "The tournament blows. I've seen everyone here. It's not worth our time. We got a lead, anyways, on something we've been looking for. So we're taking off now."

"You say we," Evergreen remarked from where she was, further down the line from the girl, "but you're alone."

Haven offered no explanation for that. "I'm over Crocus."

"I'm not," Navi offered and grinned, over at the other girl. "It's so beautiful here."

"But what about my match? All of them?" Ajax was rushing back then, from the chair he'd snagged, to go stand back at the one Locke took from him. Glaring at his cousin, he said, "I thought you would watch me. I'm gonna go all the way! You have to stay. You...Haven..."

"Don't be a big baby, Jack." She flicked his head, but there was no giggle then. "I saw you. I know what you can do. So go do it."

It really put a huge damper on breakfast though. Still, before taking off with her brothers to get down to the arena, Navi met with Haven outside, before her goodbyes to her family.

"You've gotten Locke all shaken up again, so thanks for that."

Haven was leaning up against the building, arms crossed over her chest, but didn't rebuke the girl when she stood before her. Just watched her.

Navi was giggling though, then, because they were finally alone and, well, she asked, "So are you not going to even introduce me? Not to a single one of them?"

"Imagine getting a meeting with the Queen and still only talking about boys."

"Those aren't boys. That you're friends with. Those are men."

Haven gave her that one, nodding a bit. "Which means they're too old for you."

There was something between them though, that had never been there before, and when Navi laughed that time, Haven smirked. Not out of spite. But out of something else.

"I hope I see you around again," Navi offered simply and they didn't hug goodbye, just each gave half waves. "Maybe don't make it a year next time."

"Maybe."

Her family was a bit more complicated. They were a mix of trying to convince her to stick around, at least until the tournament was over and just suggesting to her she stay over all. Come back home for awhile. But Haven had her mind set.

"Win," she told Ajax who refused to hug her goodbye because he was so upset. Only stood there with his arms crossed, refusing to cry, because he wasn't a baby or nothing like that, but… "'jax."

Ravan and Erza left without speaking to her and she'd never really considered (nor cared) if the swordswoman still held a grudge for all that had gone, back when she got excommunicated. She decided it was better not to find out.

"Where," was all Laxus grumbled to her as a farewell, "is the pendant I gave you?"

She made a bit of a face, retorting, "It clashed with my outfit."

"Haven-"

"I have it."

"You better."

And that was that.

Mirajane hugged her a bunch and mentioned money, if she were low, but Haven insisted she was only low on time and had to go and, well, they all did want to make it to see Iggy's match. Marin and Kai were the last, as the adults left them alone. Her sister hugged her, but only quickly.

"I mean what I said, Marin," Haven insisted to her simply. "You have to get stronger."

"Where are going to go?" she asked though, softly, the younger Dreyar girl did. "From here?"

"It's the same with a guild," she insisted. "There's always more jobs and there's always more treasure."

"W-Well, stay safe, I guess." Taking a step back, Marin said, "I'll miss you."

But only slightly.

Locke thought they were good to go then and he was walking over, to follow, but suddenly, Kai was stepping forwards, towards Haven. She feared for a second he was, like, going to try and hug her or something, but he didn't. Just glared.

"What?" Haven griped eventually, but he just shook his head. "Look, I have to go. So-"

"People miss you," Kai told her. "And think about you. And worry about you. A lot of people. Your family and the rest of us. And it's really crappy that you don't ever write or get on a lacrima or even try to keep in contact with people. Ravan almost died. And Locke and Navi don't even hang out anymore because you're not there to make them. And I didn't even get to tell you goodbye! I get it, Haven. I do. I was always afraid to go back home, to Shadesbay, but after Ravan got better, we all went. Me, him, Erza, and Marin. It was scary, because it's easier. To just not go back to things. When you leave them. To pretend they don't exist. But people do exist. And they are real. You trying not to miss us, makes us miss you even more. You should just...write. Your parents. And Marin. More."

He tensed up too, as he finished, Kai did, because he thought she was going to hit him or shove him or something. But after closing his eyes, waiting for impact, he found that he got none and peeked an eye open to find her walking around him, Locke following, and only Marin at his side.

"That was a good speech, Kai."

"You think so?"

"I mean...I don't think Haven likes you enough to really care, but if you were someone close to her, I bet it would have really stuck."

"Thanks."

They grinned at one another and she was still feeling a bit weak from her battle, but they had to go find her family and Haven would do what she wanted, because she always did what she wanted. If her closest friends couldn't change that, one of their annoying younger brothers wouldn't fix anything.

"What happened last night?"

"You fucked off, I guess," Haven said as she tossed her stuff in her bag, back in the hotel room, as Locke stood by with folded arms.

"Haven, I'm serious. Did you…break into the palace? Or-"

"You fucked that up, so no. Between you and Ravan-"

"What did he do?"

"Why did you even send him? What? Are the two of you friends now or something?"

Locke blinked, confused by the assertion. It was the first time it had ever been made.

"No," he said slowly. "But I thought… I saw him and I know that the two of you-"

"What happened to him?"

"What do you-"

"He took a bad lacrima? Right?" She looked his way then. "What did it do to him?"

Pretending like talking about Ravan in what was clearly their final moments together was too hard for Locke. Way too hard.

"Ask him your fucking self. Haven, I don't care about Ravan. I care about you. What happened? If you stole that-"

"I couldn't."

"You tried?"

"He wouldn't let me."

He didn't have to ask who she was talking about.

"They're all freaked because you and Ravan were sniffing around and Ravan's...whatever he has now, lacrima or whatever, scared him off. From the two of you. I think. So he wants to get out of town. Until this all blows over."

"Then you're going to steal it. Fuck, Haven, just come home already. Lay low there. With us. Until they blow over."

"You're such a loser, Locke."

"Because I don't think stealing from the crown is a good idea?"

"Because that's the only thing you can talk about."

"Because it's literally a huge part of your scheme, Haven!"

"Look at the bigger picture." She'd tossed everything in she could find then, in her bag, and turned to face him fully. Clinching a fist, she said, "You think it's just greed. Treasure hunting. Or I did. But it's not. It's power. It's the fact that you can hold something in your hands that people would kill to get. And you own it. Until it's either dragged out of your cold, dead hand or someone forks over something precious to them to you. There's nothing like it."

"So you do," he replied dryly, "like treasure hunting."

"I like a lot of the things I've been doing. And that's one of them, yeah, but it'll get old eventually. Every thing gets old eventually. It's all just part of it, anyways. Getting stronger. More powerful." Her fist dropped and she shrugged a bit. "His power, his real power, his magic, it's unlike anything I've seen. The longer I stick with them, now if I can find some other stupid way to pay them back, thanks to you and fucking Ravan screwing it up, then maybe he'll….show me. Teach me. And then-"

"You like him."

"I like," she repeated calmly and clearly because they weren't fighting, they were just talking, "a lot of people, Locke. And so do you, right?"

"No one that's actively trying to hurt me."

"He's not doing that."

"Hav-"

"He's looking out for himself. I do too. We could all go our separate ways, yeah, but we could also all stab one another in the back, at any time. It's just part of it." She rolled her eyes. "I'll leave them one day too. Once I get what I want. Some of his magic. Or at least a location or a hint as to where to learn it myself."

"And then you'll be doing something else, with someone else. Right?" He snorted, kicking at the ground. "You always told me when you left Fairy Tail, it would be to do something important. This is important?"

"It is for me."

"You can't steal from the palace, Haven. Promise me that. That you'll find something else to pay back."

"Locke-"

"Promise."

"How would you even know if I kept it?"

"Promise."

She held out a hand then and he held out his own and they were close enough to grip the others tightly, elbows bent, just glaring at one another. Up for her and down for him.

"I, personally, won't break into the palace and steal it." When they released one another's hand, she added, "I can't speak for the others though."

"I don't give a shit about them. Just you."

Her eyes drifted then, to a tiny clock on the nightstand between the two tiny beds and she frowned.

"I have to go. Soon." The time, she didn't stick out a hand, but only came over to him. Reaching out, she shoved his arm gently. "Don't look so down. This is why I avoided it the first time."

Saying goodbye.

To him.

"Because you knew Kai would cry?"

"Did it really upset him that badly?"

"Kai's gone through a lot, this past year." They all had. Looking off, he thought before saying, "It feels easier. Right now. Than it would have. That time."

"I don't like saying it."

"Then don't say it. What difference does it make? Words? If you know that you're going through them anyways?"

She didn't have an answer and only reached out again, but that time for his hand. When he opened it, she ghosted a fingertip across one of the creases there, but when he tried to close his palm, quickly, to catch her finger, she withdrew it.

"I have to go."

"I know."

"I've got a lot to talk about. With them. Last night we fought, over you and Ravan, so-"

"Could you not talk about me? So much? Since apparently that's an issue?"

She it was her turn to snot and he smiled, showing his teeth, like he was a little boy again.

"I'm glad we ran into each other," he offered then. Because he was. When she only nodded, he added, "And...if you ever end up somewhere again, like...Bosco or-"

"I don't want to talk-"

"But can. Right? Eventually? Even if we can't… I would come save you. Anywhere. You know that. Or your father. Any of us. You're only alone because you make yourself that way."

"Yeah." She shoved him again, in the arm, but he hardly even swayed. Then she was hiking her bag up on her shoulder and it was over. So quickly. "That's the point, Locke."

It felt like it was a dream when it was over. Crocus did. For everyone, really. Ajax only went one more round in the tournament and Iggy had only made it past that first opponent and though all three boys were rather down about it, they all thought it was something of an accomplishment. Or at least their parents kept insisting so.

Navi seemed taken by all her notes and thoughts and she was silent as she sat beside Locke on the train ride back, but he was too, just staring out the window for the most part, not miserable, but not pleased either.

"Are you alright, Marin?" Kai asked when a weird look came over her face and she wasn't hunched over, like the other slayers, but she did complain, a bit, about how the train felt like it was spinning and did she finally have it? Just a bit? Of motion sickness?

"You're a real slayer," Erza offered with no mocking in her tone, but it sure felt that way. As the girl pressed a hand to her head, Ravan, who was sitting with them, even had to smile a bit beneath his bandanna.

Laxus was so out of it, the whole trip back, and was just ready for it all to be over. To be back at his (hopefully) not completely run into the ground guildhall (it helped when you took the Dragneels with you, instead of left them there to their own devices). Freed took to reading him poetry, in an attempt to distract the man, but as he only hunched forwards, trying to keep down his breakfast, the man's words were hardly audible.

But the feeling of his wife's soft hand on his back, rubbing in soothing, tiny circles, was felt.

It didn't help, but it was felt.

"You guys think you'll be more ready for the tournament next year?" Lucy asked her sons as they road along and the twins hardly even gave it any thought.

"Yeah! I'll probably be able to make a bunch of stuff like then. I have all sorts of ideas already!"

"Hak won't be my only spirit by then, so of course. I bet I'll have, like, five gate keys by then. Bet."

"That's the good thing about tournaments, I guess," their mother mused as she absently stroked at Natsu's hair as he rested with his head in her lap, moaning over his motion sickness, to the giggles of Happy. "There's always another one. Something to look forward to. In another year."

In another year.

* * *

**Okay, so we're done with this one. On to what will be the first of the final two. I think I originally said there was one more story after this, but it's more of a two arc, separate thing, if that makes sense? But I always considered it one, when I was planning, but it will be uploaded as two different stories. I don't know anything about chapter lengths right now or anything like that. Also, clearly, we missed some stuff with Ravan's lacrima and we're skating past Haven's misadventures, but Ravan's lacrima will definitely be it's on one-shot, eventually, following Town with No Name, as well as some other stuff in there, I'm sure. I don't know if we'll ever fully develop all Haven does apart from Fairy Tail, but it will definitely be explained and touched upon more heavily at the start of the next story, to clear up any confusion. **

**Anyways, we've made it guys. The actual beginning of the end. I figure the last two will be pretty lengthy, but we've gotten through so much, this past month, that hopefully I can get them all out just as timely. Then we can be finished with the intended run. Let's hope it all comes together nicely, huh? **


End file.
